Research

Each year The Design & Technology Association allocates a proportion of its financial reserves specifically to support research in the field of design and technology. This support is manifested in a variety of initiatives. The Design & Technology Association Conferences included an opportunity for research professionals from institutions throughout the world to meet and present their latest work. All conference proceedings have been published and all papers, posters a02nd related resources are available through the links below.​

Access to research material is available on the Liverpool John Moores University open access data repository.  It contains a substantial number of papers dating back to the 1960s an includes all past papers from the Association’s Design and Technology Education: An International Journal, The Design & Technology Association’s International Research conferences.

Design and Technology Education: An International Journal

The Journal has been published three times a year since 1997, providing a wide range of leading research into Design and Technology to D&T Association members to reflect the changing face of modern design and technology education.

All the papers published in Design and Technology Education: an International Journal (2005 onwards) and those published in earlier versions e.g. The Journal of Design and Technology Education (1996-2004) , Design & Technology Teaching (1989 - 1995) and Studies in Design, Craft and Technology (1970-1988) can be searched and freely downloaded from the links below.

To submit a paper for consideration for inclusion in the Journal follow this link where you can find guidelines and a paper preparation checklist.

Research Steering Group

The D&T Association Research Steering Group was launched in May 2021 to encourage and support D&T educational research. The group aims to connect teachers involved with, or interested in, D&T research; actively supporting members to engaging in practitioner enquiry. The group is comprised of teachers, teacher educators and association trustees; the founding members being Brendan Anglim (Ampleforth College), Alison Hardy (Nottingham Trent University), Matt McLain (Liverpool John Moores University), Lesley Morris (D&TA Chair of Trustees), Bill Nicholl (University of Cambridge), Tony Ryan (D&TA CEO), Daniela Schillaci (Presdales School), Kay Stables (Goldsmiths University of London), Rebecca Topps (St George’s Academy) and Debi Winn (Neale-Wade Academy). If you are interested in finding out more, contact Matt (group chair) on m.n.mclain@ljmu.ac.uk.

Pupils' Attitudes Towards Technology (PATT) conference proceedings

Pupils Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT) is an international organisation, based in the Netherlands, that promotes research in technology education. PATT conferences are held annually around the globe, being hosted by a different university each year. Scholars from all over the world are invited to submit abstracts for presentation at these annual events. Papers of around 3000 words are produced by a wide range of practitioners, including researchers, teacher educators and teachers doing PhD's, being presented at the conference and published online in proceedings. In the USA these are hosted by the ITEEA.

D&T Association's own research

The comprehensive annual survey of Design and Technology education in schools and colleges, the Survey of Provision for Design and Technology is published by the D&T Association and contains detailed information on staffing, funding, resources, professional development, the curriculum, inspection and management through all phases of education.

Analysis of NPD, ILR and HESA Datasets for The Design and Technology Association

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was commissioned by The Design and Technology Association to undertake analysis of newly available datasets matched at the pupil level. Read more or download file below.

Due to the complexities of the datasets two sets of analyses were undertaken. The first looked at students that were identified as taking A level qualifications, either in school sixth forms or colleges of further education, and the second analysis looked at students that appeared on the ILR and took a qualification other than A levels. For both sets of students further analysis looked at subjects studied at Key Stage 4, the types of subject studied at A level or at college, and whether these students went on to university.

This report, as agreed, is primarily a set of tables identifying groups of students and their subject choices at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 and whether they enrolled at university.

Centre for Research In Primary Technology (CRIPT)

The Centre for Research In Primary Technology (CRIPT) conference ran from 1997 until 2009. Content included such topics as teacher training, planning delivery of D&T in primary schools, good classroom practice, information technology, links to other subjects, transition to secondary schools and the application of practical teaching and learning. Papers from all seven conferences have been uploaded into Associated Files.

Links

IDATER Archive
(International Conference on Design and Technology Education Research and Curriculum Development) (1998 – 2001), (2005 onwards)

NADE (National Association of Design Education)
Archives (1992 – 2002)

Design and Technology Education: an international journal
(2005 – )

Journal of Design and Technology Education
(1996 – 2004)

Design and Technology Teaching
(1989 – 1995)

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