Teaching food and textiles technology in secondary schools: routes through higher education

This paper is based on a small scale research project carried out by the National Association of Teachers of Home Economics and Technology (NATHE) in the Spring of 1998 into a perceived national shortage of textiles technology teachers and the even greater shortage of food technology teachers. A number of factors appeared to be relevant including changes in the traditional routes into secondary teaching, a change of focus in some degree courses and the introduction of National Curriculum Design and Technology in 1990. NATHE decided to research into the problem of recruitment of food technology and textile technology teachers to try to identify ways of improving the situation. A range of higher education institutions was asked to complete a questionnaire to elicit information on relevant courses together with examples of posts gained by their graduates. The paper presents the finding of the research and makes recommendations for the future. The aim of the research was to strengthen the position of food and textiles technology in our schools within the context of design and technology.