Britain's Industrial Skills and the School-Teaching of Practical Subjects: Comparisons with Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland

Teaching practical subjects (e.g. woodwork, technical drawing, domestic science) in secondary schools can provide a valuable foundation and introduction to subsequent vocational training and qualification. This article compares the way such subjects are taught in secondary schools in Britain with three Continental countries—Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The emphasis on high quality of finish in the making of small articles to a given design, which is the normal approach in these Continental countries, is contrasted with the British emphasis on pupils' developing their own designs to solve larger prob lems—an approach which leaves less time for making the final article and achieving a high standard of finish. The implications for the current revision of the National Curriculum in Technology are considered.