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Transforming teacher education in Design and Technologies: Value, capability and confidence to teach design
Conference presentation

Transforming teacher education in Design and Technologies: Value, capability and confidence to teach design

Leighann Ness Wilson
2026 ATEA Conference (Gold Coast, Queensland, 01/07/2026–03/07/2026)
01/07/2026

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Abstract

Creating solutions for preferred futures is the overarching concept of the Australian Technologies curriculum. Within this KLA, Design and Technologies is positioned as a future-oriented subject, capable of preparing young people to address complex societal challenges and develop transferable skills. Realising this vision, however, requires more than just curricular intent. Initial teacher education (ITE) is a critical site where the aspirations of the curriculum are translated into pedagogical capability and confidence. Within both the design and education literature, limited attention has been given to how pre-service teachers understand the epistemic foundations of design education. This presentation draws on PhD research examining how a situated experience in ITE shaped the way pre-service teachers (PSTs) interpreted and valued design thinking within primary education, and how this influenced their developing capabilities and confidence to teach Design and Technologies. A convergent mixed-methods case study was conducted using pre-and post-unit surveys, assessment artefacts, and focus groups. Data were converged and analysed, drawing on the theoretical constructs of Situated Expectancy Value Theory (SEVT), Self-efficacy, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), specific to the discipline of Design and Technologies. Findings highlight three interacting influences shaping PSTs’ engagement with design in ITE: how they interpret and value the subject, their confidence and motivation to teach it, and their disciplinary understanding, seen in their planning activities Together, these influences form a conceptual framework that helps explain how pre-service teachers engage with design within initial teacher education. The framework conceptualises how valuing the subject, developing confidence and building disciplinary understanding through situated experience interact to shape preservice teachers’ engagement with design. By examining how Australian pre-service primary teachers perceive Design and Technologies as part of primary education, this study offers insight into how the aspirations of the Technologies curriculum may be better supported in ITE.

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