Design and technology pre-service teachers' university course lived experiences in Western Australia

Carol K. Puddicombe and Nicola F. Johnson
Edith Cowan University, Australia

Design and Technology (D&T) education, historically rooted in industrial and manual arts, now integrates design-focused thinking with the practical processes of prototyping and making. Drawing on a doctoral study, this article examines the university course experiences of ten pre-service D&T teachers in Western Australia and how these shaped emerging beliefs and professional identities. Using an interpretivist framework and interpretative phenomenological analysis, interviews with ten final-year pre-service teachers were analysed. Five interrelated themes are examined in this article: knowledgeable lecturers, hands-on practical learning, curriculum breadth, peers, and internal concerns. The findings highlight the importance of current, school-connected lecturers; structured learning that integrates theory and practice; and collaborative peer communities in supporting confidence, persistence and professional identity formation. Participants also identified challenges related to program instability and academic adjustment, which shaped resilience and reflective capacity. The study highlights the need for coherent program design, lecturer currency, stable leadership and communication, and deliberate opportunities for learning through making and peer collaboration. These insights contribute to strengthening university-based D&T teacher education and preparing reflective, adaptable teachers for technology-rich educational contexts.
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Authors: Dr Carol Puddicombe is a lecturer in the School of Education, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. She is also the Design and Technology (Secondary) Specialisation Coordinator in the Secondary Education program. Her research focuses on pre-service teacher development, gender and professional identity in D&T education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0312-5306 Email: c.puddicombe@ecu.edu.au Dr Nicola Johnson is an associate professor of digital technologies in the School of Education, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. She is also the University's Quality Teaching Performance Assessment Academic Coordinator. Nicola has supervised more than 20 higher degrees by research students to completion. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7875-3027 Email: nf.johnson@ecu.edu.au Please cite as: Puddicombe, C. K. & Johnson, N. F. (2026). Design and technology pre-service teachers' university course lived experiences in Western Australia. Issues in Educational Research, 36(2), 697-720. http://www.iier.org.au/iier36/puddicombe.pdf