Conceptualising design knowledge and its recontextualisation in the studiowork component of a design foundation curriculum

Abstract

Universities of Technology have traditionally prepared students for the world of work and their close ties with industry directly impact on vocational curriculum, which has to impart subject knowledge and specialized knowledge valued by industry, whilst simultaneously encouraging the acquisition of vocational identity. This study of a Design Foundation Course’s curriculum is located at a University of Technology which is currently undergoing a process of re-curriculation, which has initiated a process of examining subject knowledge and its structuring in various course’s curricula. In the light of these developments, an examination of the nature of design knowledge and the role of the foundation curriculum in the transfer of core disciplinary knowledge to underprepared students appeared both timely and necessary.