Pre-service primary teachers’ preparedness to teach design and technology: a Western Australian perspective
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publisher
Technology Environmental Mathematics and Science (TEMS) Education Research Centre
Place of Publication
University of Waikato, New Zealand
School
Centre for Schooling and Learning Technologies
RAS ID
25879
Abstract
The importance of Design and Technology (D&T) in the new Australian national curriculum is great and covers all year levels from k-10. So while previously the area could be given lip service by teachers this is no longer the case. In the context of this, the researchers set out to examine the perceptions of existing Edith Cowan University School of Education primary and early childhood student teachers towards the teaching of D&T to determine the nature of any preconceived views relating to the area of D&T and how well their university course has prepared them to teach D&T. An online survey was developed and delivered in 2016 via a Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT) commercial survey engine. The survey was voluntary and was administered to School of Education primary and early childhood students via the university's learning management system. A sample of students across all years and courses responded, 95% of whom were female giving a sample that roughly paralleled the School's male/female population in those courses. Amongst the findings is a clear indication that before entering university many students’ views towards D&T were biased and stereotyped based upon school experiences, which supports the researchers' previous findings (Pagram & Cooper, 2015). Just over half of respondents felt comfortable teaching D&T and most had either no formal training in D&, or half an online unit during their course. This paper discusses these findings and their implications for the School of Education at Edith Cowan University and primary and secondary schools in general.
Access Rights
free_to_read
Comments
Pagram, J., Jin, H., & Cooper, M. (2016). Pre-service primary teachers’ preparedness to teach design and technology: a Western Australian perspective. In Proceedings of the TENZ – ICTE Conference Technology: An holistic approach to education (pp. 244-253). Available here