This narrative research examines the ways in which craft is conceptualized from the perspective of five recent graduates from the Material Art and Design Fibre Program at a prominent Canadian art and design university. Recognizing the cultural currents that have excised acts of making, including Western de-industrialization and abundant access to offshore labour markets, this research looks at the role of maker within a new societal context. A nascent theoretical platform for craft, shaped by artists and academics, counters a dearth of voices that has characterized the field’s history. Here, craft is posited as a methodology, characterized by embodiment, subjectivity, resistance, and skill. The experience of emerging makers, and their reflection in relation to this theoretical framework, allows for a broader consideration of present-day craft practice, and a renewed consideration of material arts curricula.

This narrative research examines the ways in which craft is conceptualized from the perspective of five recent graduates from the Material Art and Design Fibre Program at a prominent Canadian art and design university. Recognizing the cultural currents that have excised acts of making, including Western de-industrialization and abundant access to offshore labour markets, this research looks at the role of maker within a new societal context. A nascent theoretical platform for craft, shaped by artists and academics, counters a dearth of voices that has characterized the field’s history. Here, craft is posited as a methodology, characterized by embodiment, subjectivity, resistance, and skill. The experience of emerging makers, and their reflection in relation to this theoretical framework, allows for a broader consideration of present-day craft practice, and a renewed consideration of material arts curricula.

This research is about craft education in schools in England and Japan. In the specialist literature, skilled knowledge has always been identified as the main outcome of craft learning in schools, but contemporary rationales for craft education include fostering children’s design thinking understood as a process of developing creative ideas. At the time this research began in 2005, Japanese government policy for craft education emphasized creative problem solving and designing together with making skills. However, developing design ideas and skilled knowledge may be conflicting aims. There was very little guidance for Japanese craft teachers about how to teach creative thinking and more theoretical discussion about design in England. So I studied how design thinking is taught in England with a view to this contributing to craft education in Japan. The research method was qualitative and comparative. In the first phase, analysis of policy documents for Art & Design and Design & Technology and fieldwork in three primary and five secondary schools was conducted in England. In the second phase, policy documents for Art & Handicraft, Art, Home Economics and Technology & Home Economics were analysed and fieldwork was conducted in the first two subjects in seven primary and six secondary schools in Japan. Then the findings were compared and analysed qualitatively. This research confirmed that skilled knowledge is central to craft education in schools in both countries. There was a significant influence of school subject domains on how crafts were taught in class. The lack of any specification for thinking skills in the learning domains for craft education in Japan may explain why there is less emphasis on teaching design thinking than in England. I concluded that it is possible to teach design thinking and skilled knowledge successfully together in craft projects. However, it is difficult to apply this in practice in school contexts because they often lack relevant staff expertise, time and authentic materials and tools. At the end of the thesis possible ways of teaching design thinking and skilled knowledge together are suggested in the form of a domain model of art curriculum and an interactive design process model. Some strategies for teaching design thinking identified in England could provide a basis for future curriculum development in Japan.

TITLE: A pupil with Down's syndrome in craft classes at primary school AUTHOR: Bc. Libuše Kabylová DEPARTMENT: Department of Pedagogy SUPERVISOR: PhDr. Marie Linková, PhD. ABSTRACT: This thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part explains the conceps Down's syndrome, mental retardation, their context and it also defines integration and inclusion. There are also informations about the causes of Down syndrome and its typical physical features and possible health complications. It also mentions the behaviour of children with this disability, their development and possibilities of upbringing and education. The second chapter characterizes the teaching of Craft in lower secondary school with the help of general educational programme. The practical part gives the informations about the primary school where the joint education was realized. It also provides information about the concrete educational programmes with consideration to the subject Craft. Afterwards it follows its own research and analysis of lessons. Methodological work is solved by observation and dialogues. This thesis concludes with a final summary and evaluation. All the pictures are used with permission of statutory representative. KEYWORDS: education, school, Down's syndrome, Craft, inklusive education

Este trabalho apresenta uma observação acurada do universo da cerâmica no povoado de Maragogipinho, Bahia. A pesquisa revela quem são os mestres e mestras do barro, dá a conhecer o seu processo criativo e educativo. Esses homens e mulheres são protagonistas do patrimônio cultural imaterial brasileiro, eles detêm e socializam conhecimentos que perpassam gerações, saberes tecidos em práticas de ensino não sistematizadas e nem legitimadas pelas culturas hegemônicas. A educação artesanal está fundada na ancestralidade, na repetição e na invenção, no constante diálogo entre a tradição e a emergência da modernidade: novas formas de criação e antigos segredos de ofício se misturam, numa tensão permanente entre transformação e conservação. O artesão e a artesã vivem o seu legado cultural e o mantêm vivo, reinventando-o e atualizando-o eternamente. Essa herança conserva a conexão com o passado, mas se reveste de novos símbolos e significados no presente para fortalecer a identidade dos autores e de suas comunidades, e para dar sentido ao futuro. / This work presents an accurate observation of the pottery universe in the village of Maragogipinho, Bahia. The research reveals who are the masters of clay, makes known their creative and educational process. These men and women are protagonists of the brazilian intangible cultural heritage, they preserve and socialize knowledge across generations, originated in unsystematic practices, not legitimized by the hegemonic cultures. Craft Education is established on ancestry, on repetition and invention, in constant dialogue between tradition and the emergence of the modernity: new ways of creating and old trade secrets are mixed on a permanent tension between transformation and conservation. The craftsman lives his cultural legacy and keeps it alive reinventing and updating it forever. This heritage preserves the connection with the past, but acquires new symbols and meanings to strengthen the identity of the authors and their communities, and to make sense of the future.

Este trabalho apresenta uma observação acurada do universo da cerâmica no povoado de Maragogipinho, Bahia. A pesquisa revela quem são os mestres e mestras do barro, dá a conhecer o seu processo criativo e educativo. Esses homens e mulheres são protagonistas do patrimônio cultural imaterial brasileiro, eles detêm e socializam conhecimentos que perpassam gerações, saberes tecidos em práticas de ensino não sistematizadas e nem legitimadas pelas culturas hegemônicas. A educação artesanal está fundada na ancestralidade, na repetição e na invenção, no constante diálogo entre a tradição e a emergência da modernidade: novas formas de criação e antigos segredos de ofício se misturam, numa tensão permanente entre transformação e conservação. O artesão e a artesã vivem o seu legado cultural e o mantêm vivo, reinventando-o e atualizando-o eternamente. Essa herança conserva a conexão com o passado, mas se reveste de novos símbolos e significados no presente para fortalecer a identidade dos autores e de suas comunidades, e para dar sentido ao futuro. / This work presents an accurate observation of the pottery universe in the village of Maragogipinho, Bahia. The research reveals who are the masters of clay, makes known their creative and educational process. These men and women are protagonists of the brazilian intangible cultural heritage, they preserve and socialize knowledge across generations, originated in unsystematic practices, not legitimized by the hegemonic cultures. Craft Education is established on ancestry, on repetition and invention, in constant dialogue between tradition and the emergence of the modernity: new ways of creating and old trade secrets are mixed on a permanent tension between transformation and conservation. The craftsman lives his cultural legacy and keeps it alive reinventing and updating it forever. This heritage preserves the connection with the past, but acquires new symbols and meanings to strengthen the identity of the authors and their communities, and to make sense of the future.

Upcycling is the process of repurposing discarded materials into new products of higher value, and holds significant potential for sustainable waste management. This thesis explores the challenges and opportunities involved in expanding upcycling practices in the city of Stockholm, with a specific focus on craft classes in public schools. The goal of the study is to identify key success factors and propose strategies for scaling up upcycling initiatives. A mixed method approach, including literature review, semi-structured stakeholder interviews, attitude surveys, and material flow analysis, was employed to gather insights and data. The findings reveal various challenges within the upcycling value chain, such as the need for efficient collecting processes, limited storage space, and financial feasibility. Despite the sechallenges, the research identifies several success factors, including cost-effectiveness, regulatory support, and the availability of discarded materials. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of upcycling practices in public schools’ craft class and provides valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and practitioners seeking to implement and expand sustainable waste management strategies. By addressing the identified challenges and leveraging the opportunities, upcycling practices can be effectively integrated into public school curricula, fostering environmental consciousness and promoting a circular economy mindset among students. / Upcycling är förädlingsprocessen att återanvända avfall för att skapa mer värdefulla produkter. Det har en betydande potential för hållbar avfallshantering. Detta examensarbete undersöker svårigheterna och möjligheterna med att bredda metoderna för upcycling i Stockholms stad, med särskild uppmärksamhet på hantverkskurser som erbjuds av offentliga skolor. Målet med studien är att identifiera avgörande faktorer för framgång och ge förslag på metoder för att öka storleken på ett upcycling-projekt. För att inhämta information och data användes en blandning av tekniker, som inkluderade litteraturgenomgångar, semistrukturerade intervjuer av intressenter, attitydundersökningar och materialflödesanalyser. Resultatet visar på flera utmaningar inom värdekedjan för upcycling, inklusive krävande insamlingsprocedurer, begränsat lagringsutrymme samt villkoren för ekonomisk genomförbarhet. Trots dessa brister och utmaningar avslöjar denna studie även flera framgångsfaktorer. Dessa inkluderar kostnadseffektivitet, kommunalt stöd samt tillgången till avfall. Sammantaget bidrar denna studie till förståelsen av återanvändningsmetoder i offentliga skolorshantverkskurser och ger värdefulla insikter för beslutsfattare, utbildare samt andra praktiserande som vill implementera och utöka strategier för hållbar avfallshantering. Genom att ta itu med de påvisade utmaningarna och utnyttja möjligheterna kan praxis för upcycling effektivt integreras i den offentliga skolans läroplaner, öka miljömedvetenheten och slutligen främja ett tankesätt för cirkulärekonomi bland skoleleverna.

The thesis deals with questions of how the purpose and content in the Swedish school subject Sloyd can be understood in the present, some years after a new curriculum came into effect in 2011. Through sloyd teachers’ stories of their knowledge and the historical traces that have left a mark on their teaching, such as older syllabuses and mediated experiences, the intention is to examine the pedagogical thinking that forms the classroom’s activities. The overall purpose is to develop knowledge of what shapes the design of sloyd, based on how the subject is expressed in the syllabus and in teachers' understandings of teaching and the subject. Based on previous knowledge and interviews, a hermeneutic research process has been designed and developed over time. Seventeen semi-structured interviews with textiles teachers where conducted, recorded and transcribed for the study. The hermeneutic interpretation process involved repeatedly reading and listening, and the material was coded using the digital analysis tool ATLAS.ti. Through repeated reading of the codes, three overarching themes were found: Textiles teachers' perceptions of Sloyd’s purpose and content, Textiles teachers’ teaching, and Manual and intellectual work in unity. The perspective of curriculum theory using a frame factor model is intended to highlight how Sloyd manifests itself at different levels of interpretation, which may impact how sloyd takes shape in the classroom. For a functional perspective on the study's data, didactic theory is used with a focus on subject didactics. The transformation phase is central to the shaping of Sloyd, where teachers’ beliefs and perceptions about the subject will influence their interpretation of the syllabus. Shulman's model of pedagogical thinking and action linked to pedagogical content knowledge, PCK, form the basis for the analysis together with theoretical perspectives on teachers’ pedagogical thinking as Kansanen and Hansén describes it. In summary, two levels of pedagogical thinking are distinguished by analysis. Firstly, based on those teachers who transform and implement teaching in sloyd based on an interpretation that follows the syllabus closely, and secondly, based on those who proceed from an interpretation that is closer to sloyd’s field of knowledge, based on handicraft. This results in two subject conceptions relating to sloyd. Teachers can ascribe to one of these, or move between them in the different phases of pedagogical planning and reflection. The conclusions also include an understanding of why the knowledge requirements in the syllabus largely relate to the students expressing themselves in words regarding their learning and their choices during the process. The curriculum is results-oriented and the knowledge that is evaluated must therefore be measurable and comparable, and be made possible to learn through the subject content. It can also be interpreted as an approximation of a practical knowledge culture to a theoretical knowledge culture, and therefore a legitimation of a practical subject in the school context that elementary school constitutes.