This research investigated the perceptions held by pupils, across four Northern Ireland schools, towards routine school-based practical work activities and project work in Technology and Design (T&D) and also that which had been contextualized within an industrial setting. The views of the Heads of Departments (HoDs) of each school and four local industrialists were also probed in relation to the latter. The study is important as it is one of only a few studies of T&D to be conducted in Northern Ireland and, to the author's knowledge, it is the only study to date that has focussed on young people's perceptions on this key aspect of the subject. Indeed, there is recognised to be a lack of the pupils' voice in the technology education literature more generally. The research was carried out by means of in-depth interviews with both pupils in Year 10, the final year of Key Stage 3 (KS3), and pupils in Year 12, the final year of Key Stage 4 (KS4). The schools were from both the selective and the non-selective sectors. In Northern Ireland KS3 refers to the first three years of post-primary schooling (Years 8, 9 and 10) and KS4 refers to the following two years (Years 11 and 12). A total of 22 Year 10 and 22 Year 12 pupils participated in the study. Two sets of interviews were conducted with the pupils, Interview One dealing with their routine practical work and Interview Two focussing on practical work which was associated with local industry. The HoDs and the four industrialists also took part in the second series of interviews.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:707839 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | McGeown, Kieran |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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