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Due to the deteriorating investment environment, many real-estate companies in China have started transferring their business out of the construction industry. This leads to the shrinkage of the design market and also architects' salary. A great number of architects have switched career to maintain the same living quality as before. Meanwhile, architectural education in China is not able to integrate itself with emerging science and technologies, losing possibilities to explore new employment channels for its graduates. There is a huge gap between qualities needed in the current or future labour market and the architectural education in schools. An online survey was conducted to investigate the current state of architects' career shifting, trying to expose the problem mentioned above. In the second part of this paper, education missions from 50 universities are analysed and detailed education curriculums from three top universities are scrutinised. At the end, the education boundary is suggested to be reconstructed from three aspects: integrating the emerging technologies; reducing unnecessary content; and training in self-learning skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews literature on constructivist learning theories relevant to and evident in teacher education in a New Zealand university. These theories are illustrated within an authentic technology education context which involves students from a primary teacher-education degree programme. It investigates how a practical activity, based on constructivist principles, successfully leads to the development of student teachers' understandings of technology education and technological practice within an initial teacher education programme. The paper describes the practical activity undertaken by final year students where a collaborative 'company approach' strategy is used. The data shows that while undertaking a constructivist based activity, students gain a rich understanding of theory related to technological practice and relevant links to learning in the classroom. Examples are presented of the higher level thinking obtained by the students as they participate in this collaborative and cooperative exercise and reflect on their learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the foundational principles of Problem- Based Learning (PBL) as an integrative teaching strategy designed deliberately to cross discipline boundaries in order to make meaningful and lasting connections. The authors suggest that while PBL has in recent times has largely manifested towards a method of inquiry within a single discipline the founding principles and key characteristics that inform PBL may be applied to solving technological inquiry where an understanding and application of scientific principles is fundamental in informing and developing the preferred solution. This paper highlights that in order to be effective classroom educators, in an ever increasing and complex world, pre-service teachers' need to develop robust mental models and metacognitive skills that are transferable. In supporting this development the rationale and the application of PBL as an integrated teaching and learning strategy in pre-service science and technology education will be examined. This paper suggests that PBL is an effective strategy in supporting inquiry of an interdisciplinary nature as well as developing dispositions that embrace collaborative inquiry and reflective practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science and Technology entrepreneurship is one of the requirements of the new millennium, an era called digital society and globalization. Entrepreneurship is considered an agent of growth, wealth creation and development of society. Although New Zealand has experienced a rapid growth of education and research in Science and Technology areas, the country continues to face challenges in engaging communities such as Māori and Pasifika school students. There is a lack of understanding about career pathway choices and opportunities by parents and high school students, especially in these communities (Ministry of Business, 2014). A significant part of enhancing this understanding is building a relationship between the communities, science and technology industry partners and school students. This paper presents an initiative taken by the university, government and community partners to create a better understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and entrepreneurship. The programme brought together business, government, researchers, school students, and the wider community within the Auckland region. It demonstrated the application of the triple helix model (Figure 2) to connect the three major players through STEM subjects and entrepreneurship. The programme encourages students to think about themselves as job makers rather than job takers in the future. A range of measures are used to evaluate its success, and initial results are presented. The format of this study can serve as a guideline for future initiatives aimed to improve students' awareness of STEM and entrepreneurship careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes teacher responses to a framework designed to support teacher planning for technology. It includes a learning experience outside the classroom [LEOTC] and is designed specifically for five-year-old students. The planning framework draws together characteristics of technology education, junior primary classrooms and LEOTC to describe the role of the teacher, parent helpers and students as they work through three identified phases - preparing for a visit outside the classroom, participating in a learning experience outside the classroom, and post-visit activities in the classroom. This framework was trialled using a case study approach in two new-entrant classrooms in which students made chocolates for Mothers' Day as part of a technology unit. Students partook in a LEOTC visit to a chocolate factory in order to examine the practice of experts before designing and making their own chocolate gift. Data sources for this paper included interviews with two participating teachers. The analysis of these suggest the use of the planning framework led to the thorough preparation of parent helpers and students, clearly defined roles for both the teachers and the parents, and the use of valuable strategies which enhanced students memories of their visit and enabled them to apply aspects of the knowledge gained to their own technological practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the establishment of a framework for researching children's decision-making skills in design and technology education through taking a grounded theory approach. Three data sources were used: (1) analysis of available literature; (2) curriculum analysis and interviews with teachers concerning their practice in relation to their respective national curricula; and (3) a study of classroom activity in order to gather children's' perspectives. These three data sources provided triangulation, as well as supporting the validation of the data obtained. The main areas of interest for the literature search were children's decision-making strategies, the implementation of decision-making in educational contexts and the roles of teachers and curriculum materials in the development of children's decision-making skills. In this paper the key outcomes of this literature search are presented. Teachers in Cyprus, England and Iceland, were interviewed concerning their practice and the results of these interviews are presented. The exploratory study was conducted in a Cypriot classroom and the results found in this context are noted and compared with the literature sources and interview outcomes. The resulting framework illustrates the possible factors that affect children's decision-making skills within design and technology education and is designed to be used in a subsequent research investigation using these possible factors as preset codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses ongoing research into the role of design and technology education in emerging post industrial economies. Previous work (Hughes et al., 2010) focused on the changing characteristics of textiles technology in modern times and discussed how this could inform a design and technology curriculum related to the needs of a modern textile technology workforce. This current paper reports on the second stage of the grounded theory programme in which theoretically sampled data from the first phase provides the direction and purpose for the work presented here. Within this context, this research explores practising teachers' perceptions of textile technology associated with the emergent STEM agenda. Data gathered supports the view that technological aspects of design and technology closely linked to the STEM agenda are needed to provide a firm foundation for the design aspects of the subject. Without a STEM focus, the subject may lose its hard won importance in the UK schools and colleges' curriculum. This is especially the case in an economic climate in which curriculum design stakeholders may be forced to review the content of the national curriculum across all key stages as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research (Fish, 2004) suggests that everybody should be taught how to freehand sketch and utilise it as a tool for supporting the visualising instinct. A fundamental shift in philosophy of the technology education system in Ireland towards design driven subjects brought with it a need to develop practising teacher's technological capabilities. This paper is concerned with the exploration and development of freehand sketching as a support tool for visual synthesis and creative discovery during design driven activities. The fundamental hypothesis tested was whether a set of empirically derived activities ranging from observation to imagination, improved the ability of students with novice sketching ability to develop, manipulate and synthesise graphical libraries through the medium of freehand sketching. 124 students of an Initial Technology Teacher Education programme participated in a journey through the activities as part of a third year undergraduate Design and Communication Graphics module. The study was carried out over a four week period, it involved eight hours of classroom based instruction and the sketching ability of all students was measured pre and post-instruction. Results from the study reveal a statistically significant increase in student's ability to freehand sketch with notable improvement in their fluency and ability to synthesise concepts and geometries. Overall, the novel and original activities have a notable effect on student's ability to form, manipulate and synthesise visual information and communicate this through freehand sketching. The model presented has potential to be successively implemented by other teachers in a variety of educational settings and student populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an investigation into middle school students' naïve ideas about, and attitudes towards design and designers. The sample for the survey consisted of students from Classes 7 to 9 from a school located in Mumbai. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to look for trends in students' responses. Results show that Indian middle school students, who had no experience in design and technology education, demonstrated an incomplete understanding of what design is and what designers do. Most students considered design as some artistic rendering process where the designer is engaged in decorating or making things look attractive. Very few students suggested design as planning before making. Students demonstrated a good understanding of the skills associated with designers and showed a positive attitude towards designers and design learning. Insights from the study have implications for design curriculum development at the school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the attitude to Mathematics of B.Ed. (Post-primary) Technology and Design student teachers, in Northern Ireland, and is located within the context of 'STEM' (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The aim of the research is to consider whether students' attitude to Mathematics is different when the subject content is presented within or outside their own subject area. Technology and Design provides both 'purpose' and 'utility' to the delivery of Mathematics. Based on the results of an attitudinal questionnaire and focus group interviews it has been concluded that there must be corporate responsibility for the teaching and delivery of Mathematics. Those involved in teaching Mathematics, whether directly or indirectly through a different subject area, must not only be knowledgeable in subject content and its associated pedagogy, but ideally convey a positive attitude towards Mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is in four parts. Part 1 considers the justification for including design and technology in the school curriculum. Part 2 suggests the content for the subject at Key Stage 3. Part 3 describes some of the ways the subject might be taught. Part 4 considers ways in which the curriculum can be devised so that it is irresistible and transformative. A brief conclusion revisits the unique characteristic of the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The French school system is a subjects-centred curriculum from the beginning of 1960s. This deep-rooted organisation tends to block the several attempts made to integrate the teaching of scientific school subjects. From an historical point of view, this paper describes the curricular system and the issue of its current change. It focuses on the main issue about separation or integration of these subjects in secondary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explored the extent to which cultural concepts stipulated in Botswana Design and Technology curriculum are taught by teachers at junior secondary schools, a topic on which there is little previous research. The pinnacle of good product innovation is when it is grounded on sensitive cultural analysis of the society's culture. However, it has been observed that teachers have not yet been able to encode cultural concepts in teaching Design and Technology. A qualitative case study was conducted to assess the extent to which teachers teach and examine cultural concepts in Design and Technology. This data was analysed using the qualitative method of textual content analysis. The findings show that teachers do not teach this cultural component due to lack of relevant reference materials and other resources. The study concludes by proposing strategies that could be used to teach cultural concepts in the Design and Technology curriculum at secondary school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of context-concept education alongside existing approaches is valuable. In this article we introduce a threedomain model for concept-context learning that supports both the design process as well as the idea of concept learning. The model shows how practical and abstract knowledge should be combined to improve contextconcept learning. The model acknowledges the dual nature of products and the need to relate practical, concrete experiences to causal explanations. It distinguishes three domains: the social context, the concrete product and the abstract knowledge domain. Here, the model is used to analyze, explain and suggest improvements for training primary school teachers in the Netherlands. The research data from the in-service teacher training show how continuous movement between the three domains is needed to develop creative, socially relevant solutions. The training would be better aimed towards the needs of the learner if the connection between the theory, concrete experiences with products and the social context is made more visible and inviting. INSETS: Example 1. A lucky throw;Example 2. NASA airplane (see Figure);Teacher 1: “Let's share our information the…. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the iterative design development of an Academy for 11-18 year olds focusing on the following research question: What are the features of the multi-disciplinary interactions and associated modelling techniques, which lead to the development of an Academy proposal which meets its Education Brief? A case study approach bounded by time and focus group was adopted (Cresswell, 1998). This approach was adopted in order to create a rich picture of the social setting and to illustrate the complexity of the process referred to as 'learning led design' from in depth analysis of the education brief, through iterative development in consultation with key stakeholders to the presentation of final proposals. Findings illustrate that collaborative interactions are an important feature of effective design development with cross disciplinary creative collaboration being the key to the development of successful outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]