The study backs a call from parents for more Design & Technology (D&T)* teachers, to help equip children with everyday life skills, from wiring a plug to planning and making a nutritious meal to understanding electronics and hydraulics. Almost three-quarters of parents (72 per cent) want all children to study everyday D&T skills, regardless of gender.
And nearly a third of parents (30 per cent) would specifically like industry experts to consider becoming teachers, and head into the classroom to educate their children on these subject areas.
Some parents still feel conservative about what subjects should be taught to their sons versus daughters, as a quarter (27 per cent) of parents with a son thought their child(ren) should not learn cooking skills and two-fifths (44 per cent) of parents with a daughter did not want their child(ren) to learn basic woodwork skills. But a third (31 per cent) of women wished their partner had learnt to cook at school and 16 per cent of men would like their partner to have learnt electronics at school.
In fact, half (47 per cent) of parents believe that learning more of the skills offered through D&T would have benefited them later in life.
Although parents demand young people learn a whole range of practical skills, their knowledge of what is actually taught in schools is patchy. 78 per cent were unaware D&T lessons cover plastics while others were uncertain that product design (69 per cent), electronics (63 per cent) and even food technology (24 per cent) were covered in schools.
And the survey shows that parents are also in the dark about some of the new teaching methods used in design and technology lessons. Only one in five (17 per cent) realised that setting up a catering business could be used to teach technology in schools, while others were unaware teachers used tactics such as making quilts from recycled materials and designing products for the disabled in their lessons.
Graham Holley, Chief Executive of the TDA, which carried out the survey, commented:
“Parents recognise that the skills learned in Design and Technology can be of real practical value or be the first inspiration for a child’s choice of career. But the reality is that we need more teachers in this subject area to come forward and teach our children.
“Teaching is a rewarding career in many different ways. The pay is good and there are excellent opportunities for progression. But, unlike many other careers, teaching also allows you to use your knowledge, alongside the unique rewards of working with young people.”
Celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, commented on the findings:
“It is essential that in order to teach these vital skills to young people that we have more Design and Technology teachers in our schools. For some students, learning about these subjects will inspire choices for their future lives. For others it will be the only chance they have to learn these valuable skills. Many professionals are well placed to be able to go into the classroom, using their industry experience and degree knowledge to help children learn these skills.”
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Notes to editors
This news release applies to England only.
PCP research interviewed 1,025 parents of secondary school age children in England during November 2007.
*Definition of Design & Technology
Design & Technology prepares young people to participate in tomorrow's rapidly changing technologies, learning to think creatively. The subject calls for pupils to become problem solvers, both as individuals and in groups - looking for needs, wants and opportunities and responding to them by developing a range of ideas, making products and systems. Practical skills are combined with an understanding of aesthetics, social and environmental issues, function and industrial practices. In the learning process pupils can reflect on and evaluate present and past D&T, its uses and effects. It covers subjects such as electronics, food technology, graphics, hydraulics, plastics, product design, metalwork, textiles and woodwork.
Teaching enquiries
For more information about how to become a teacher, see www.teach.gov.uk. Personal advice is available from the Teaching Information Line on 0845 6000 991 – 992. For Welsh speakers minicom 0117 915 8161.
From 1 September 2008 a newly qualified teacher (NQT) will start on a salary of at least £20,133 (£24,168 in inner London). The pay scale for good, experienced classroom teachers who have 'crossed the threshold' rises to £34,281 outside London and £41,004 in inner London. Additional allowances may be paid to teachers considered to be excellent, and to those who take on management and other responsibilities. The pay scale for head teachers can rise to more than £90,000 depending on size of school. Further details are available at www.teach.gov.uk/payandbenefits.
Eligible trainees on secondary postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) courses in England are entitled to a tax-free training bursary worth £6-9,000. Newly qualified teachers with a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) in maths and science may also be eligible for a ‘golden hello’ payment worth £5,000 (taxed) after successfully completing their induction period. Those with a PGCE in modern languages, design and technology, information and communications technology, music and religious education may receive £2,500. Details are available on the TDA website at www.teach.gov.uk/funding.
From 1 August 2008, the bursary for trainees starting ITT courses in secondary postgraduate English, dance and drama will be reduced from £9,000 to £6,000 and trainees will not be eligible for a golden hello. The bursary for trainees starting primary postgraduate ITT courses will be reduced from £6,000 to £4,000.
The graduate teacher programme (GTP) enables people to train to become a teacher while employed in a school. Details of employment based routes can be viewed at www.teach.gov.uk/routes
Data collected by the TDA shows that close to 40,000 people began teacher training in the academic year 2006/07.
The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) was established under the Education Act 2005. Its principal aim is to secure an effective school workforce that improves children’s life chances.
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