D. Barlex (Ed.), Design and Technology: For the Next Generation

Abstract

This book contains an eclectic collection of chapters by a range of authors for the express purpose of addressing a very real need in the design and technology education field. Beginning and practicing design and technology teachers need to have access to both contemporary research findings and to the views of leading thinkers in the field for the purpose of developing their own professional identity and their expertise. The point is well made that current pre-service teacher education has little time to deal with the complexities of design and technology as a curriculum area. Reduction in the time provided for design and technology (and other learning areas such as science, the arts, social sciences) as part of primary teaching degree courses has been a clear feature of recent developments internationally, and the common one year education provided for those entering the secondary sector has never been adequate preparation. Reduced time inevitably leads to a ‘nuts and bolts’ teacher education rather than the more reflective and contemplative philosophical teacher education that most of us would argue as foundational for teachers to best prepare them for the challenge that is involved in providing quality design and technology programmes. When limited pre-service preparation is combined with the overwhelming ‘literacy and numeracy’ focus within in-service professional development, it is very timely for a book of this nature and quality to be provided to support teachers as they take seriously their need for further and ongoing professional growth. In reviewing this book I did what David Barlex suggests its not designed for—I read it from ‘cover to cover’. I can confirm his sentiment here. The contents of the book were not enhanced from doing so! There is no natural flow between chapters and in fact reading them in the order they come is somewhat disruptive to developing a sense of the strength of the book as a whole. Given the target audience of the book, I am not sure this was really an effective strategy for its structure. For those who have limited experience and are seeking a book such as this to help, expecting that they will be able to identify the spot to ‘dip’ into for help as the need arises may be a little too ‘un-prescriptive’ for its own good. However, this frustration aside, I personally found a strong level of coherence across the book as a whole, particularly when viewed across two broad categories. I therefore have