Managing the big ambiguity: academic rigour versus personal creativity

1. The national curriculum provides a solid foundation on which teachers can build their own exciting and innovative schemes of work. It does not dictate precise details of what should be taught or when. Teachers are free, and are expected, to use their imagination in making the school subject of design and technology the exciting, motivating and creative experience which it truly is.

2. However, the national curriculum does imply that design and technology has its own discipline, rooted in antiquity, which is academically rigorous at the same time as giving the freedom and flexibility inherent in an essentially creative subject.

3. Schools develop their own approaches to constructing continuous and progressive learning experiences, and this RECORDAT web site is designed to support individual approaches without imposing artificial constraints on teachers or students.

4. There are many national, regional and local schemes which aim to support schools in their complex tasks of organising genuinely creative learning experiences in design and technology for their students. The following text provides details of some of these schemes and teachers are urged to take advantage of those which are relevant to their ideals and localities.

Managing external support: commercial interests versus educational ideals

Business and commerce have many valid interests in the education and training of future generations. Design and technology can make significant contributions to the development of many capabilities in the workforce.

On the other hand, teachers may be uncertain as to the skill requirements of industry and often welcome offers of working partnerships with local companies.

This is, definitely, a two-way relationship:

• employers need to know what design and technology can do for them
• teachers need confidence in the potential of what they are teaching when it comes to students' applications for jobs, training and further and higher education.

Employers are often in a position to offer materials and equipment to schools. However, schools need to be circumspect! Very generous gifts can influence the curriculum in unexpected ways and it is not always possible to absorb particular equipment into a school’s curriculum planning.

Teachers need to be clear in their curriculum planning as to what is really needed. Similarly, employers need to articulate, clearly, the capabilities they need across the whole spectrum of their future needs. The section on Capabilities in the discipline of design and technology could be a useful basis for a dialogue between teachers and employers.

Managing external support: unbiased support versus vested interests

Lavish financial backing may come at a cost!

Sponsorship often expects a quid pro quo in terms of free advertising.

Teachers should keep their wits about them when negotiating for commercial backing; however, many companies are genuinely interested in supporting education in design and technology and they should be made welcome in the schools.

Managing external support: support based on rock-solid curriculum planning

If the curriculum planning for design and technology combines academic rigour with personal creativity, then commercial interests can be accepted without prejudicing educational ideals. Schools are then able to get the best of both worlds; industrial sponsorship and academic performance.

It all depends on the quality and clarity of the discipline of design and technology which underpins the teaching of the subject throughout the school years.