Transforming Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs and Understandings about Design and Technologies

Design and Technologies challenges students to think differently: to think critically and creatively. Yet, how, when and why students are exposed to Design and Technologies curriculum in school classrooms is at the prerogative of their teacher. For this reason, it is imperative that pre-service teachers are inspired by and engaged through relevant, rigorous and responsive courses throughout their undergraduate teaching program. Situated within the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle) degree at the University of South Australia, Australia, this study captures pre-service teachers’ emerging beliefs, attitudes and understandings of Design and Technologies. Drawing on the comparative responses of pre-service teachers collected at the commencement and conclusion of an undergraduate Design and Technologies course, this paper highlights how immersion in a curriculum area can transform pre-service teachers’ theoretical, conceptual and practical understandings and how this may influence how, when and why they incorporate the learning area in their subsequent teaching experiences