Using the design methods of fashion design professionals to enhance the teaching practice of secondary school design educators

Most of us take design and technology for granted as they have become heavily entwined with our everyday life and contemporary visual culture. Given the demands of a globally competitive environment, and the responsibility secondary school educators have in preparing students to succeed in tertiary education and become better informed consumers, school districts need to move forward with including design and technology into their arts curriculum.;Designers play a key role in imagining the future of our physical world, and their decisions shape the way humans think and behave with material culture and with each other. Fashion design education---as both a global commodity and multi-billion dollar business---extends into our everyday life. Understanding the power of the design process is essential for creating this culture of well-informed citizens. Improved fashion design pedagogy in schools will better prepare secondary school students for tertiary design education and contribute to the creation of a culture of well-informed and savvy citizens who can think through design processes and make decisions that will positively impact our environment and society.;Using grounded theory and mixed methods research methods, this investigation explored the relationship between the design methods used by six fashion design professionals in the U.S. and the design methodologies taught by eight fashion design teachers in selected Illinois secondary schools. The findings revealed some of the pedagogical shortcomings schools are facing in the teaching of design methods in secondary school design and applied arts classrooms. The study also revealed ways in which references to visual culture and the implementation of professional design methodologies by teachers can improve design product made by students in secondary school fashion design classrooms.