Historical Perspective of Traditional Technical Subjects in Botswana

The Botswana education system is based on a three-tier: primary, post primary and higher academic education. Because of this linear type of education system, Botswana lags behind in the technical field. She has to rely on expatriates for technical manpower. Ultimately, the government realised that it was necessary to introduce technical subjects into the secondary school curriculum to provide a foundation for the much needed technical manpower. These technical subjects include woodwork, metalwork, technical drawing and most recently design and technology, which embraces most of the subjects in the school curriculum. Because design and technology embraces all of the subjects mentioned above, they are slowly being phased out. Design and technology is slowly gaining recognition because of its importance to the

Market Research for Student Designers

This article examines the role of market research in design and technology as part of the design process. Moreover, a sample structure is given to help shape the content of what is required when one is conducting market research. The intention is to help staff and students to develop a better understanding on the role of market research when designing new products

Teaching of Cultural Concepts in Botswana Junior Secondary Schools Design and Technology Curriculum

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

Using a Design-orientated Project to Attain Graduate Attributes

Nowadays universities are required not only to impart knowledge of specific disciplines but also generic graduate attributes such as communication, problem-solving, teamwork, creative thinking, research and inquiry skills. For students to attain these generic skills, educators are encouraged to use learner-centred approaches in teaching. Project-based learning is one such an approach which promotes self-directed and lifelong learning capabilities, equips students with transferrable knowledge and skills that are essential to the work environment, intertwines theory and practice, gives students the opportunity to gain a deep understanding of concepts and potentially allows them to solve the society’s problems. A case study was conducted at the University of Botswana with Design students to assess the attainment of the graduate attributes after designing packages for a small entrepreneur producing frozen vegetables. The results indicate that the following graduate skills were either rated very good or excellent: self-directed, lifelong learning, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, organisational and teamwork, communication, entrepreneurship, information and communication technology knowledge and skills. This shows that project-based learning can impart the skills and knowledge that the labour market needs. The results also provide an opportunity for educators to critically reflect on the type of projects given to students in relation to the attainment of graduate attributes

Promoting Upcycling through an International Research Network

open accessThe current linear economic growth model detached from environmental challenges is flawed and has resulted in environmental challenges such as pollution, climate change and many others. Different organisations and countries have devised various interventions and policies to address environmental issues such as reuse, recycling, upcycling, sustainable waste management and circular economy. However, environmental depletion is continuing at an alarming rate. There is an urgent need to re-examine and change the environmental management strategies, consumption, and production patterns of extract-manufacture-consume-dispose to a sustainable model. This paper discusses upcycling innovation as one of the promising sustainability strategies. The authors observe the research in the area is isolated, e.g., country-specific and uncoordinated. Therefore, there is a need for joint research collaboration at a global level to promote upcycling. This may be achieved through an ongoing research project on the International Upcycling Research Network, which has networked upcycling actors on all continents. The International Upcycling Research Network aims to promote the upcycling practice and research to increase resource efficiency and encourage behavioural change toward sustainable lifestyles

Challenges facing teachers in the teaching of design and technology education in Botswana’s primary schools

In this paper the background to the introduction of design and technology in Botswana’s schools is examined. The introduction was flawed as it left the foundations years weak, that is design and technology was first introduced at senior secondary school and subsequently at junior secondary. In 2006, the subject was introduced at primary schools level. This approach posed a lot of challenges especially to primary school teachers in terms of professional development. design and technology at primary school level is offered as one of the eight modules making up the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA). Primary school teachers were not involved in the development of the CAPA curriculum. An action research case study was conducted in Gaborone primary schools to establish the extent of the challenges facing the subject and how they can be addressed. This paper reports on the findings that were made at the workshop for teachers of CAPA. The findings indicate that teachers are ill-prepared to teach CAPA and it is only through extensive in-service training that such challenges can be addressed

Cultural Memory, an Asset for Design-driven Innovation within the Creative Industries Sector: Lessons for design education

Culture is gaining recognition globally as an important driver of sustainable development in the creative economy. The significance of the role of design and culture with the creative industries is under-researched, especially from the new emerging economies perspective. Therefore, designers need a framework which will guide them on how they can create sustainable, and innovative cultural sensitive products which reflect users’ identities. Co-designing from cultural memory is a new design approach which embeds users’ beliefs, expectations, and expressive values in products and services. The paper discusses two case studies which were conducted in Botswana within the creative industries. The aim was to study how designers imbued cultural memory factors into design features. The paper developed a culture-centred design model after carefully studying how designers identify, transform and imbued cultural memory factors into innovative glocalised products that have local meaning and a global appeal

Key global challenges and opportunities for scaling up upcycling businesses in the world: Interpretive structural modelling workshop preliminary analysis

Upcycling is one promising approach to extending the lifetimes of products, components, and materials by utilising a variety of material processes and innovations to turn waste products and materials into products of higher quality or value than the compositional elements. Upcycling increases resource efficiency and reduces solid waste and industrial energy consumption. It creates new job opportunities for businesses and reduces costs for materials. Despite such benefits, however, upcycling remains a niche practice. Moving from a niche to a mainstream practice (or scaling-up) could realise the full potential of upcycling. Understanding interrelated and self-reinforcing challenges in the global upcycling value chain is critical for scaling up global upcycling businesses. As existing studies of upcycling are mostly industry and country-specific, the factors impacting upcycling success across industries and countries still need to be discovered, making it difficult to establish which challenges can be prioritised in effectively scaling up upcycling businesses internationally. This study aimed to identify critical global challenges and opportunities for scaling up upcycling businesses worldwide. We organised two online workshops with nine international experts in upcycling, utilising Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). The preliminary analysis of the ISM workshop results showed that all global challenges and opportunities are interlinked and that key opportunities reflect key challenges, with the first priority intervention suggested as ‘involving citizens in upcycling initiatives or events’ followed by ‘improving material provision’