Developing sustainable policy and practice for design and technology educational research: engaging with stakeholders in England

In recent, the policy landscape for schools in England, related to research-informed teaching, has had a tendance to focus on a relatively narrow collection of research findings. These have largely centred on findings from the cognitive sciences, with government funded research favouring randomised controlled trials. This has resulted in some feelings of disaffection from teachers of design and technology, who do not see their subject reflected in the research that is promoted by senior leaders in their schools. This study focuses on policy level activism and stakeholder engagement with subject leads in school groups, such as Multi Academy Trusts (MAT), with the aim to provide a sustainable policymaking voice for the design and technology (D&T) community. The research gathers mixed methods data via an online questionnaire. The data is analysed using Self-determination Theory (SDT), identifying stakeholders’ sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in relation to the research findings that they and their organisations value and use, making recommendations to policymakers on the access and use of subject specific research findings in primary and secondary school settings.