Design and Technology: Guide

Alison Hardy, Jason Davies, Jeffrey Buckley, Adri du Toit, Scott Bartholomew, Suzanne Gomersall, Cathy Growney, Marion Rutland, Ulrika Sultan, Louise Davies, Trudi Barrow, Matt McLain, Sarah Davies, Helen Brink, Richard Brown, Silveira, V., Mburu, P. K. , Andrew Halliwell | View as single page | | Feedback/Impact.
Design and Technology Education: Guide
Context
D&T curriculum
Pedagogy
Assessment
Resources
What is D&T?
Knowledge Structure of D&T
Signature pedagogies
What is assessed in D&T
Where can teachers find resources to support D&T
D&T in England
D&T Capability
Demonstrations
Formative & summative assessment
Research about D&T
D&T in Scotland
Creativity
AI as a pedagogical tool
Peer and self-assessment
Links to other useful resources
D&T in Wales
Gender in D&T
Design fiction
D&T in Ireland
Food in D&T
Lesson planning
D&T in South Africa
AI in D&T
Gifted students in technology education
Primary D&T
Values in D&T
Critical thinking in D&T
D&T in the USA
Biomimicry
Primary to secondary transition
History of food in D&T
Strength of Evidence
Transferability
Areas for further research
Editors' Comments
Online communities

Values in and of D&T

Alison Hardy

In D&T the concept of ‘value’ has been primarily used in relation to subject content, pedagogy and outcomes, but Layton (1992a, p.1) points out:

If some views on values and technology appear to you as the only possible ones, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the relationship of values and technology, nor the reason why an understanding of this is important.

Layton (1992b) identifies that there are different kinds of values that pupils need to learn about in D&T for use when making judgments, such as technical values, economic values and moral values. Others have considered the role of values in making design decisions  (Trimingham, 2008) or as a framework for understanding new technologies  (Prime, 1993). Martin  (1999, p. 202) categorises these as ‘values within’ D&T, but analysis reveals that there are another two categories (Hardy 2015):

  • Values developed through D&T: How a pupil becomes technologically literate because of studying D&T  (Dakers, 2005; Keirl, 2007)
  • Values ascribed to D&T: Layton’s  (1992, p.3) second perspective was not as values within D&T but how the values systems of ‘stakeholders involved in the socio-political shaping of school technology’ influence design and technological activity.

In design and technology pupils learn about how values inform, and are implied in, the design of artefacts and systems.

Pupils’ knowledge of values can be applied in different ways, for example:

  1. Understanding what is valued by others.
  2. Making value judgements themselves when designing, making, and evaluating.
  3. Recognising that values are implicit within products and systems.

Table 1 Some different kinds of values in design and technology (Layton 1992:36)

Values

Examples

Technical

Right material for the job

Improved performance

Improved performance of an artefact

‘Neat’ solution

Economic

Thrifty use of resources

Maximising added value of a product

Aesthetic

Pleasing to handle

Attractive to look at

Social

Equality of the sexes

Regard for the disadvantaged and people with disabilities

Environmental

Ecological benignity

Sustainable development

Moral

Sanctity of life

Spiritual / religious

Commitment to a conception of humans and their relationship to nature

 

References

Budgett-Meakin, C. (1992). Values to make the future work: the role of the appropriate technology approach in design and technology education (Version1). Loughborough University. 

Dakers, J. R. (2005). The hegemonic behaviorist cycle. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 15(2), 111-126.

D Layton, "Values in Design and Technology," in Make the Future Work, edited by C Budgett-Meakin, Longman, 1992, pages 36 to 53.

Hardy, A.L., 2015. What's D&T for? Gathering and comparing the values of design and technology academics and trainee teachers. Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 20 (2), 10-21.

Keirl, S. (2007). The politics of technology curriculum. In D. Barlex (Ed.), Design and technology for the next generation (pp. 60-73). Cliffeco Communications.

Layton, D. (1992). Values and design and technology. Loughborough University.

Martin, M. (1999). Exploring values in design and technology. In D. Lawton, J. Cairns & R. Gardner (Eds.), Values and the curriculum; the school context (pp. 199-207). Curriculum Studies Academic Group.

Prime, G. M. (1993). Values in technology: Approaches to learning. Design & Technology Teaching, 26(1), 30-36.

Trimingham, R. (2008). The role of values in design decision-making. Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, 13(2), 37-52.

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