Human-Centered Design Pedagogies to Teach Values in Technology Education

Abstract

Technology is value laden; hence technology education should create opportunities for students to learn about and practically apply value judgements to enable them to become future agents of change. Over the past three decades the rationale to include values, especially moral values, in technology education has gained increased momentum. 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. The current orthodox pedagogy should be replaced by one in which values relating to technology and technology education are co-constructed rather than imposed. Hence, a new pedagogy known as co-design is proposed. Co-design is an approach to human-centered design (HCD). Co-design is acknowledged as a novel design field which sees the user as a valuable contributor to counterbalance the values of the ‘hero-designer.’ Co-design can be applied as a pedagogy in design and technology education. However, design education is critiqued for the lack of opportunity for collaboration because of disciplinary silos even though the process begins with understanding core values of inclusion and questioning the notion of who designs in the age of collaboration. For co-design, the core values of inclusion and collaboration imply partnerships with users. Hence, co-design pedagogy aligns with technology education in socially constructed values which are inter-subjective and co-constructed. The first part of the chapter deliberates on a co-design pedagogy in fashion design education and findings revolving around three design principles emanating from HCD interventions, namely: (1) users as core and inspirational source, (2) design with users, and (3) identify user needs for integration with design. These three design principles act as input for design action, planning and making. Discussion then shifts to the second part where linkages are drawn to propose strategies for including the teaching of moral values in technology education.