A PIONEERING academic from the North East has criticised Government plans to reform the national curriculum which would “dumb down” technology teaching.
Professor Stephanie Atkinson said the proposals for what children should be taught are more suited to 1940s Britain and is not challenging enough for 21st Century learning.
Prof Atkinson, who became the first female woodwork teacher in the UK during the 1960s, has condemned the Department for Education’s proposals for design and technology, saying the reforms will leave pupils ill-prepared for the modern world of work and instead only equip them with “basic DIY” skills.
Prof Atkinson, a design and technology expert at Sunderland University, says her concerns are shared by fellow members of the Design and Technology Association (DATA).
Prof Atkinson, who has written to her MP to highlight her fears, said: “The new proposals will lower the standards and reduce expectations.
“Even its use of terminology to describe content assumes low status such as, ‘straightforward skills’, ‘basic skills’, using ‘simple’ techniques. It is more DIY than design and technology.
“Where are the words that we would expect to see: words such as ‘challenging and rigorous’; ‘meeting user needs and values’; ‘working with smart materials’; ‘computer-aided design and manufacture’?
“It is also the case that by identifying specific fields of knowledge others are excluded and the ones that have been chosen are far too narrow and, in some instances, totally inappropriate for a technologically-advanced nation.
“The proposals would be more suited to Britain directly after the second world war, and it concerns me greatly.”
The National Curriculum Review of Key Stages 1 to 3, which covers pupils aged from five to 14, has been taking place over the past two years. The consultation for design and technology ends on April 16.
The proposed changes, published on February 7, list developing and using a range of “common practical skills” in mechanical and repairing contexts, as well as maintenance and repair tasks on electrical appliances.
The Government also states that pupils should learn to cook and cultivate plants for practical purposes such as for food or “for decorative purposes”.
The document has angered teacher trainers nationally and Prof Atkinson is concerned that it is being ignored by MPs, people in industry and schools.
In a recent survey by DATA, more than 90% of its members believe the changes are not rigorous or challenging enough.
The Engineering Council has recently said the country will need 1.86 million skilled engineers between 2010 and 2020.
However, Prof Atkinson believes the lack of a rigorous curriculum will only have a detrimental effect on the industry and challenges the Government whether they should “dumb down” the area of the curriculum that could provide the necessary skills. Prof Atkinson – who lives in Allendale, Northumberland – has written to Guy Opperman, Conservative MP for Hexham, highlighting her concerns. He has raised the issue with Education Secretary Michael Gove.
Mr Opperman said: “I am grateful to Professor Atkinson for writing to me with her concerns. I thought it only right and proper that I convey these concerns directly to the Secretary of State, and I look forward to his response.”
