Design and Technology: Two Cultures or Unitary Concept?

In this paper a secondary technology educator from Western Australia argues that design and technology have, in reality, little in common; design being rooted in an 'arts' culture whilst technologists are commonly trained as engineers or scientists. This, he contends, creates tensions in the curriculum when we ask children to 'design and make', activities which are seldom integrated in industry. The converse position is argued by a primary design and technology educator from England, who argues that this essentially educational model can be illustrated with industrial examples. In conclusion, both authors agree that there is indeed a strong educational rationale for the integration of designing and making in furthering pupils' technological capability, but that the purposes of technology curricula must be made explicit before introducing the complexity of the profess