Teaching of Cultural Concepts in Botswana Junior Secondary Schools Design and Technology Curriculum

Abstract

This research explored the extent to which cultural concepts stipulated in Botswana Design and Technology curriculum are taught by teachers at junior secondary schools, a topic on which there is little previous research. The pinnacle of good product innovation is when it is grounded on sensitive cultural analysis of the society’s culture. However, it has been observed that teachers have not yet been able to encode cultural concepts in teaching Design and Technology. A qualitative case study was conducted to assess the extent to which teachers teach and examine cultural concepts in Design and Technology. This data was analysed using the qualitative method of textual content analysis. The findings show that teachers do not teach this cultural component due to lack of relevant reference materials and other resources. The study concludes by proposing strategies that could be used to teach cultural concepts in the Design and Technology curriculum at secondary school level.