Is it Really Work? Primary School Pupils' Conceptions of Design and Technology as a National Curriculum Subject

Abstract

In recent years the teaching of design and technology as a National Curriculum subject has received increasing attention in books and journal articles (Black, 1990; Smithers and Robinson, 1994). The bulk of this work has been devoted to issues related to the structure of the curriculum (Ball and Lacey, 1980; Black, 1990; DES, 1989), the rationale for its existence as a subject in its own right (Paechter, 1995) and, to a lesser extent, aspects of pedagogy (Linblad, 1990). Almost no data is available, however, on pupils' perceptions of and reactions to design and technology as part of their everyday school life, particularly at the primary stage.