The above activities are examples of good practice. They provide effective learning opportunities for pupils to value diversity and challenge racism. They focus on helping pupils to understand and appreciate aspects of cultural difference, context and change, while challenging and extending their perceptions of themselves and other people.

The examples describe work planned to meet the requirements of the national curriculum programmes of study for design and technology and the expectations described in the level descriptions. The context of the work was selected with the needs and abilities of the pupils at the forefront and, in particular, an understanding of the community in which the school is set.

What is the potential in the design and technology curriculum for valuing diversity and challenging racism?

The national curriculum programme of study and the QCA/DfES schemes of work for design and technology provide starting points for valuing diversity and challenging racism in the classroom. The national curriculum statutory inclusion statement sets out schools' responsibilities for meeting the needs of all pupils and provides examples of how this can be achieved.

The following programme of study requirements may provide opportunities to value diversity and/or challenge racism.

Key stage 1

Developing, planning and communicating ideas

Pupils should be taught to:

1a - generate ideas by drawing on their own and other people's experience


Evaluating processes and products

Pupils should be taught to:

3a - talk about their ideas, saying what they like and dislike

Key stage 2

Developing, planning and communicating ideas

Pupils should be taught to:

1a - generate ideas for products after thinking about who will use them


Evaluating processes and products

Pupils should be taught to:

3c - recognise that the quality of a product depends on how well it is made and how well it meets its intended purpose, for example, meets social, economic and environmental considerations

Key stage 3

Developing, planning and communicating ideas

Pupils should be taught to:

1d - generate design proposals that match criteria

1e - consider aesthetics and other issues that affect their planning, for example the needs and values of intended users, function, hygiene, safety, reliability, cost


Evaluating processes and products

Pupils should be taught to:

3c - identify and use criteria to judge the quality of other peoples products, including the extent to which they meet a clear need, their fitness for purpose, whether resources have been used appropriately, and their impact beyond the purpose for which they were designed, for example, the global, environmental impact of products and assessment for sustainability

Key stage 4

Developing, planning and communicating ideas

Pupils should be taught to:

1b - consider issues that affect their planning, for example the needs and values of a range of users: moral, economic, social, cultural and environmental considerations


Evaluating processes and products

Pupils should be taught to:

3c - ensure that their products are of a suitable quality for intended users, for example how well products meet a range of considerations such as moral, cultural and environmental

3d - use essential criteria to judge the quality of other peoples products

What are the implications for teaching and learning?

Inclusion: providing effective learning opportunities for all pupils

The national curriculum statutory inclusion statement describes schools' responsibility to provide a curriculum that meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of pupils. The statement sets out three principles that are essential to developing an inclusive curriculum:

• setting suitable learning challenges;
• responding to pupils' diverse learning needs;
• overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

The statement also provides examples of how this responsibility can be met.

Effective teaching in design and technology can make a significant contribution to pupils ability to value diversity and challenge racism, by providing opportunities for pupils to:

• prepare to participate in tomorrow's rapidly changing technologies;
• learn to think and intervene creatively to improve the quality of life;
• look for and respond to needs, wants and opportunities by developing a range of ideas as well as making products and systems;
• combine practical skills with an understanding of: aesthetics, social, cultural, moral and environmental issues; and functional and industrial practices;
• reflect on and evaluate past and present design and technology regarding its uses and effects;
• become discriminating and informed users of products and become innovators.

Design and make assignments (DMAs)

By setting DMAs in a range of cultural contexts, pupils develop insights into different cultures and so improve understanding of their own roots:

• They can address their own or other's real needs and wants
  Pupils need to understand the user's world in order to develop products to meet those needs. Pupils research and identify needs and produce genuine solutions rather than making assumptions or stereotyping user groups;
• They can bring individuality to DMAs
  When working on a design, pupils each solve the task in a unique way. They learn quickly there is no true or false; rather a better or worse! There is no set way of working: all appropriate ideas have value as there are no right or wrong answers; designers can accomplish the same task correctly in very different ways. Of these many solutions, all are successful in different ways and have different impacts;
• They can bring their own culture to their designing and making
  Pupils' work builds directly on their own experience and interests, and honours their own cultural experiences. This can make a significant contribution to how valued pupils feel, which in turn affects their self-esteem and eventually their level of achievement;
• They can develop communications skills
  Pupils' achieve this goal by discussing difficult issues, listening to other's viewpoints and working in teams to accomplish collaborative activities.

Product evaluation activities and focused practical tasks

By using DMA product analysis techniques from a range of cultural contexts, pupils develop insights into different societies and so improve understanding of how their own culture compares and contrasts:

• They can find out about new products and applications
  Pupils discover how society (in the UK, overseas or both) has been enriched by the contributions of different groups of people;
• They can learn how to use and evaluate products in relation to their indigenous culture
  Pupils learn to use a range of techniques and materials to evaluate a variety of familiar and unfamiliar cultures;
• They can come to appreciate that every product has a cause and effect
  Pupils develop the insight that products are made in response to the needs of a society or of the individuals within that society;
• They can understand approaches to product development
  Different societies and cultures have different ethical and moral values. Pupils learn how to develop and use appropriate technologies within restrictions of design briefs written to reflect a range of contexts;
• They can consider how technology reflects different cultures and values
  Pupils realise that all products are linked closely to the societies in which they are made. Also, no single culture has a monopoly of achievements in the field of design and technology.

Principles to inform teaching and learning

Design and technology needs to be taught in context

Design and technology contributes to cultural understanding by exploring the contribution of products to the quality of life within different cultures and by valuing the responses of people from other cultures to design problems they face.

Cultural sensitivity is actively promoted and assessed in all aspects of design and technology, enabling pupils to learn about the cultural impact on design. The inclusion of a range of contexts should permeate all design and technology activities, rather than being seen as a one-off project or week of activities. There should be a multicultural learning environment that is reflected in the choice of design briefs, teaching and learning materials, displays, and products chosen for product evaluation activities.

Products and systems from different cultures and contexts should be valued and understood in their own right. No product can be isolated from the people who develop and use it or from an interaction with the environment. Analysing and evaluating existing products and their applications teaches pupils a great deal about how products are designed and manufactured. Pupil's critical awareness and knowledge can be developed and they can use what they have learnt to inform their own designing and making. They can also identify the choices made by a designer, the thought processes behind these decisions, and outside factors that inspired and constrained the design. Staff should develop clear, practical strategies for dealing with comments that are insensitive or racist with regard to looking at, say, products from different cultures.

A carefully chosen range of products helps pupils to:

• consider user needs and how these can be met;
• identify and explore how a product might be used;
• learn how a product is made;
• learn how other designers develop solutions;
• explore value judgements;
• explore issues of sustainability, economics, justice, citizenship.

Design and technology helps pupils to understand values and beliefs held by different groups and communities and so clarify and develop their own. Evaluating products is an excellent starting point, but design and technology also gives pupils an important opportunity to develop awareness and an in-depth understanding of the world in which they live. Pupils can use design and technology to learn how to make informed choices that enrich their lives and contribute to the development of society. For example, learning about global issues not only enables pupils to understand the processes and technologies used for a particular product, but also encourages them to become more reflective about the impact of technological activities on people, society and the environment. This kind of awareness-raising exercise equips pupils with the resources to think more critically and to make informed decisions: as designers, makers or consumers.

Teaching design and technology in a global context

Design and technology offers a unique opportunity to equip young people with the attitudes and skills to enable them (as future designers and consumers) to contribute to a multicultural society. Pupils also gain an understanding of the impact of technology choice and developments on a local, national and global level. Teaching design and technology in a global context can help pupils to understand and appreciate the following:

• cultural similarities
  All peoples share common needs, wants and problems.
  
• cultural difference
  There are diverse ways that people see and represent themselves and their world, both between cultures and within cultures;
  
• cultural context
  The ideas, beliefs and values of product designers relate to the time and place in which they are working;
  
• cultural change
  Cultures are not static; perceptions of them change, both within the context in which they were originally formed and when people migrate to other parts of the world;
  
• cultural interpretation
  Our personal perceptions of who we are result from our roots, our experiences and how we feel about these. These perceptions influence: how we react to situations, products and technologies; how we respond to and understand the work of others; and how we respond creatively to the time and place in which we live.

Generally speaking, designing and making should occur in contexts that enable pupils to:

• show awareness that some products are made in different countries and cultures. By key stage 4 they should recognise and have considered the impact that technology and manufacturing processes makes to indigenous cultures and traditions,
• contribute their own cultural values to their design ideas. By key stage 4 they should demonstrate that cultural sensitivity has been considered during the development of pupil's specifications and testing;
• experience a small range of materials and techniques, including those used in their own homes and communities. By key stage 4 they should demonstrate appropriate choice of materials and justify their suitability to the cultural context in which they are used;
• simulate basic technological processes from other cultures and countries. By key stage 4 they should be able to select and apply knowledge and skills of processes and materials to their own creative ideas.