DEPTH2: design & technology trainee teacher’s use of a subject construct model to enable reflective critique of school experience

This paper will describe an inquiry into the case of a design & technology one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) trainee’s interpretation of their school-based experience in England using the DEPTH approach of subject knowledge, pedagogic knowledge and school knowledge. The following research questions drove the study: (a) What reasons do PGCE trainee teachers give for believing that design & technology should be included in the secondary school curriculum for all pupils? (b) What designing and making assignments did these PGCE trainee teachers teach in the school-based experience? (c) How did the trainee teachers perceive these assignments in terms of the subject knowledge required, pedagogy employed and the influence of the school on the nature of the assignment and how it was taught? Data were collected using a free response questionnaire administered to one cohort of 29 secondary design & technology PGCE trainee teachers at the end of the course at a Higher Education Institute (HEI). Analysis of the data involved descriptive statistics. Analysis of the data has revealed that the trainees did not adhere to any obvious orthodoxy for justifying the place of design & technology in the school curriculum and that the current performance culture in schools has a prescriptive effect on their ability to contribute to the design & technology curriculum. Recommendations are made concerning school—HEI partnership activities and further research activities to enhance the scope of future studies.