RE: research about web design education in the UK

Hello Helen,

Interesting idea! But I do have a few reservations / queries. I hope the below points aren't too critical as I'm trying to be constructive. :)

While it's true that the industry has been highly judgemental of Web design education, the reasoning behind this has already been well-established via case studies of students (worldwide) and those in the teaching or training profession (also noted by grass-roots education projects). One of the more defined reflection of this is shown by the upsurge of employers who are dropping their dependancy on applicants having a relevant qualification in preference of proven experience (due to the unreliability and loss of faith over such programs providing competent graduates), and the number of independent bodies within our field taking industrial action to supplement or replace traditional academic systems (which itself identifies the frustrations of an entire industry).

As such, I do wonder about the value in trying to just measure the "state of things". All we'd likely gain from such research are demographics doing little more than identifying the need for change (which we're already aiming to achieve). Research would possibly be better served if it could focus on something a little more productive to help us identify a solution, rather than pointing fingers. For example, we need to know what roadblocks educators and students face when trying to maximize the time they have in the classroom, and we need to identify major hurdles that need overcoming (to cater this curriculum to their needs). Perhaps as part of the research, you could encourage students to submit details of assignments they've been set (noting the place they're studying). With enough participants, it would provide a qualitative perspective that could help identify common failings and where assistance is required.


Part of what I'm doing (in particular) for this group is focused upon providing a series of materials (as part of a supplementary toolkit) that should help reduce confusion levels for those who primarily adopt what we're aiming to provide, so any research results you're able to provide in your plan would be of particular interest / use to me in helping to shape the tools I'm crafting. Sorry if I'm mis-interpreting what you're aiming to examine, but as details were sketchy I decided I'd drop this feedback in and notify my interest, as unbiased academic feedback to build upon is a little thin on the ground!


Regards,
Alex Dawson

PS: I like Adrian's idea of finding out how many outside professionals aid the teaching of course materials and how we could encourage more to-do so,

Received on Monday, 19 December 2011 22:34:01 UTC