What Happens when a School Subject Undergoes a Sudden Change of Status?

Abstract

Abstract This paper reports some of the findings of the first year of a study of the development of the design and technology curriculum in England and Wales. The establishment of a new, high status, practical subject area offers a unique opportunity to study curriculum history as it happens. Furthermore, as the new subject is being taught by teachers from previously gendered areas, the relationship between gender, power and subject status is particularly illuminated in this context. The paper considers what has happened to the subject area as a result of its elevation to extended core status in the English and Welsh National Curriculum, in terms of both subject and teacher status. A particular focus is the increased academic nature and masculinisation of the subject as a result of its increased status. It is argued that the interaction of gender with power and status is an important but largely ignored aspect of curriculum history.