Difficulties of Student Teachers in the Engineering Graphics and Design Course at a South African University: Snapshot on Sectional Drawing

Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) is a university course that teaches a medium of communication in the form of drawings. This study was undertaken to investigate factors associated with the difficulties experienced by student teachers in the sectional drawing component of the EGD course. Purposive sampling was used to select 40 students enrolled for the Bachelor of Education: Technical Education studying EGD. Questionnaires, classroom observations and focus interview were used to collect data. The results of this study reveal that students have a poor EGD background; experience difficulties in understanding sectional drawing; lack understanding of sectional drawing principles; lack knowledge of 2D/3D sectional drawing as well as poor pedagogic practices. It has also transpired that students perform poorly in the spatial visualization test. It is recommended that more attention be paid to line-work and spatial visualization exercises during teaching, using Piaget's perception of imagery theories. Specific subject didactics of technology subjects should be strengthened with these topics in order to prepare efficient and quality teachers of EGD and related subjects.