CRIPT 6th International Primary School Design & Technology Conference 2007 – Paper abstracts

Abstract

It is ten years since CRIPT was established and we held the first International Primary Design and Technology Conference in Birmingham. Since then, we have hosted the conferences biennially and we are delighted to be able to host this sixth conference June 29th – July 3rd 2007. Colleagues from every continent have joined in sharing their research and curriculum development work through the many and varied papers presented, and the Conference Proceedings have become a major source of information for those
engaged in the development and implementation of the subject worldwide. CRIPT has always subscribed to the notion of the importance of the inter-relationship between theory and practice, and ensured that this was adhered to throughout the conference. CRIPT has continued to place papers into two sections – research and curriculum development, and as in 2005, there were presentations by children involved in a design challenge, set by Sebastian Conran, and in work on Sustainability. In the two intervening years since the last conference, it appears that the focus of work illustrated by the papers is now on review and consolidation of policy and practice rather than the introduction of the subject into new countries. The papers mainly reflect the work of individuals or small groups working on and researching particular
aspects of implementation both in school and in Initial Teacher Education. Designing is certainly one theme that emerged at both this and previous conferences, and is an area that still needs to be explored in greater depth to ensure children are given appropriate opportunities to develop their critical and creative thinking skills.