What can be done to improve the situation?
Teachers and policy-makers need to think differently, and recognise that the skills and aptitudes used in our 'wealth creation' activities represent an intellectual challenge.
As an industrialised and trading society, we are coming up against increasing competition. The low esteem associated with technology, trade and industry represents a huge problem, and you who teach and you who make education policy are part of that problem.
None of those now teaching can be blamed! In training you were exposed to a curriculum that was always unsuitable for an industrialised and trading society. But you were also exposed to a 'hidden curriculum' dating back to the 19th Century with value judgments that never rated the skills and aptitudes required for an industrialised and trading society. This does not make sense when you expect education to be funded, and yourself to be paid.
So teachers and policy-makers need to think beyond the confines of what they have learnt, to think differently, and recognise that the skills and aptitudes used in our 'wealth creation' activities represent an intellectual challenge to survive both economically and environmentally.
The curriculum needs to reflect the influential role of technology on the way we live. The challenge for policy is to identify the areas of change required, and design processes that will lead to successful change.
If successful change is going to be achieved, the educational fraternity must feel ownership of the process, and while prescription here is not possible since it was not part of the research remit, it is appropriate to highlight areas for consideration as outcomes of this research.
The curriculum
Since Mathematics and Science are 'knowledge' components of Technology, and our productivity and capability are determined by our technology, Technology: the creative system of humankind should become a fourth core subject.
In the classroom
Our 'tool culture' is the foundation of Technology, and we need to teach understanding of:
- The processes by which we are socialised into using tools and technologies as tools from the earliest years.
- The importance of technology in the context of the local socio-economic community.
- Our total dependency on tools and technology—almost every field of human experience is touched by our tool and technology culture.
Higher education
In 1993, Howard Davies Director-General of the CBI, described British Industry as 'hot on invention, but cold on product development' — see p433 and 434 Appendix 13.
- How can these desperately important issues be addressed?
Teacher training
- Our functional dependence on tools and technology as individuals and as a society.
As minimum areas for change, these suggestions will not be easily accepted because we continue to be challenged by a past that resides in the present — think about how our society earns its living!
A final word to policy-makers. From this research, it is evident that students rate highly the creativity possible within the curriculum for the subject of Art. In the analysis by subject studied for the 1995-6 survey, those taking Art scored a median of 9 on a 1 to 9 scale, while those not taking the subject scored a median of 8. The 2001-2 survey repeated these results.
- For D&T, the comparable scores were 8 and 7 respectively, and in both surveys.
- For Maths, the comparable scores were 3 and 2 for the first survey, 3 and 3 for the second survey.
- For Science, the comparable scores were 4 and 4 for the first survey, 4 and 3 for the second survey.
The inference is that the curriculum is restrictive in Maths and Science, and yet these subjects are knowledge components of D&T. As an industrialised and trading society, we are dependent on our creativity in technology to remain competitive. The curriculum needs to become much less restrictive, particularly in the areas that impact on the well-being of our society.