The role of materials in implementing design and technology education in South Africa

The paper describes aspects of design and technology workshops that were given at a number of venues in South Africa in 1995 and 1996. It explores the perception of design and technology held by many of the participants at the commencement of the workshops and one consequence of that perception; the pivotal role of the type of materials and components used to resource design and technology projects. Participants' and facilitators' perception of 'high technology' and 'low technology' are contrasted, and the political implications of a purely technical view of design and technology activity are described. The approach adopted by the facilitators for the materials' content of the 1996 workshop at a teacher training college is summarised and the paper concludes with a description of a project not developed in a formal educational institution but which may be indicative of the type of project that has potential for many educational institutions, especially schools, in South Africa and elsewhere.