Teaching Values in Technology Education through Co-Design

Teaching values through co-design

Abstract

Co-design pedagogy appears to be gaining momentum in technology education to counteract the critique of design education for the lack of collaborative initiatives. Hence, co-design pedagogy aligns with technology education in socially constructed values that are inter-subjective and co-constructed. Socially co-constructed values imply that technology education should pave possibilities for students to learn about and practically apply value judgments to foster futuristic change agents.

Like co-design, the rationale to include values, especially moral values, in technology education has grown. Incorporating values in technology education would prevent the discipline from becoming mere technical education. The exploration of the context for designing and making is one stage in the technological process to support students’ exploration of value judgements. However, replacing the current orthodox pedagogy by ones in which values relating to technology and technology education are co-constructed rather than imposed requires investigation.

This conceptual paper draws on the empirical findings of three co-design principles used to guide co-design pedagogy, which are then superimposed on the theoretical framework of values in technology and technology education.  Hence a two-fold: Firstly, it draws on the findings of three co-design principles emanating from co-design interventions in fashion education, namely: 1) users as core and inspirational source, 2) design with users, and 3) identify user needs for integration. Subsequently, the second purpose draws linkages to technology education and proposes strategies for the teaching of moral values. Thus, the overarching research question is: How can co-design design principles be linked to and inform strategies for teaching moral values in technology education? 

The three co-design principles emanated from qualitative design-based research embedded in an interpretive paradigm via social constructivist methods. Following that, the linkages were a result of a superposition of the co-design principles on the theoretical framework of values in technology education. The said superposition could be instrumental in reviving the stagnant framework as a contribution for technology education.