Creative Subjects Declining In Schools
A report released yesterday entitled Enriching Britain: Culture, Creativity and Growth suggests that Creativity is being squeezed out of education which could go on to limit opportunities for our students.
The report, commissioned by the University of Warwick stated that between 2003 and 2013, entries for GCSE Design and Technology dropped by 50%.
Furthermore in 2012 - 2013, only 8.4% of students combined a creative and science subject at AS level - a worrying statistic when you think how well Design and Technology sits with STEM subjects.
The report stated that teaching hours and teachers for design and technology were down 11%. It was stated that cost of students taking part in extra-curricular activities was putting them out of reach for low-income families. This makes me wonder whether the cost implications of Design Technology in schools could be driving cuts to the subject, as headteachers and governors are under more pressure to make cost cutting measures in schools.
"We need creative scientists as much as we need artists who understand the property of materials and the affordances of new technology," it said.
It is up to us as teachers to demonstrate to our students the value of studying design technology, and to emphasise the academic vigour of the subject. All to often I speak to students about studying the subject at GCSE and they simply don’t realise the skills they are learning. Some still evaluate a project and are stating that they have learnt how to build a bird-box for instance. They forget the vital problem solving, material science, research, thinking and justification techniques they have picked up along the way.
These are worrying statistics, but the question is, what can we do to instil the values of Design and Technology in our students?
