Design decision-making by children aged 12-15 within design and technology education

The thesis presents research regarding decision-making by children aged 12-15 within design and technology education. An in depth discussion of the factors that are affecting children‘s decision-making capabilities in design decision-making as found in the previous literature is presented. The literature provides information on children‘s and adults‘ decision-making processes, research from the area of cognitive development, the implementation of decision-making in educational contexts, the role of teachers and curriculum materials, and the role of knowledge, skills and values within design decision-making. These were reviewed as part of the theoretical background of the study. An action research methodology was designed in order to gather data relevant to children‘s decision-making behaviour. A pilot study was conducted to explore the spontaneous strategies that children follow in order to take their design decisions. Based on the results of the pilot study, the research methodology was redesigned and a main study was conducted. Three age groups from 12 to 15 were included in the sample of the study and 15 children were interviewed before and after a design task was given to them. Additionally 110 children were observed while designing, their log-books were analysed and they completed pre-tests and post-tests with activities relevant to decision-making. The results of the study were analysed using grounded theory guidelines and the key findings are discussed. Based on the findings of the research study a model was designed that describes the factors that are involved in children‘s decision-making in design and technology education. From the results of the study children‘s strategies, difficulties they faced, their age, the requirements of curriculum materials and teachers‘ pedagogical activities seemed to affect children‘s decision-making behaviour. Finally the thesis discusses these results in relation to the original research questions and also presents some suggestions for further work

Pupils’ design decisions in design and technology education

This paper presents some initial results of a pilot study carried out as part of a PhD degree for Loughborough University. The aim of the study is to improve our understanding of how pupils from Cyprus take their decisions while working with design and technology activities. An action research methodology was developed in order to understand how existing practice influences pupils design decisions. Pupils’ sources of information and their ability to set appropriate criteria were also investigated through this study. Data were collected from observations (N=59), semi- structured interviews with pupils (N=15) and through pre-tests and posttests (N=59) with decision-making tasks. Pupils’ responses were categorised according to phenomenology and a coding system was developed based on pupils’ responses. The initial results of the study show that the majority of pupils rarely search for information outside the class before taking their design decisions. The main source of information for Cypriot pupils is their teacher and this is more obvious at younger ages (age 11-12) than later on (age 14-15). A difficulty that pupils face during decision-making is their inability to set appropriate evaluation criteria for their design decisions. Another weakness identified from the research is the lack of motivation that pupils might have during decision-making. The paper also indicates future research plans

The development of optimisation decision-making skills within the area of technology education through a technology fair

The ability to make effective choices and decisions is one of the most important competencies that students need to be successful in life. This paper suggests the idea of using the technology fair as a means for promoting students’ decision-making skills. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of a procedure of working with primary school children to complete and present a technology fair project, on the decision-making skills of undergraduate primary education students. Pre-tests, mid-test and post-tests were administered to undergraduate students before, during and after the preparation of the technology fair, respectively. Data were also collected from reflective diaries kept by the university students during the preparation of the technology fair. A number of students were selected and interviewed after the completion of the technology fair. The analysis of the results indicates that the technology fair has an influence on improving students’ decision-making strategies within the domain of design and technology

A grounded theory approach to the development of a framework for researching children's decision-making skills within design and technology education

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 the literature search are presented. Teacher 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

Design decisions in design and technology education: a research project undertaken in Cyprus, Iceland, and England

The paper represents a research project on design decisionmaking in the area of design and technology education in Cyprus, Iceland and England. This was carried out in 2006-7 and explored the role of teachers and their understanding for the importance of students’ autonomy in decision-making when they are at age 11-14. In addition the paper looked at the congruity between decision-making opportunities included in national curricula and how teachers understand the relationship between such curricula and practice. The data collection is based on semi-structured interviews with teachers from Cyprus, Iceland and England, and reviews of the national curricula. In the study, the researchers compared their findings and reached common conclusions. This initial study articulated understanding gained from teachers of their practice and hence provides the foundation for an action research programme and further comparative studies. However, some discussions of possible improvements to practice in design decision-making within design and technology education are also included in the paper