A discussion of the necessity of craft education in the 21st century

Authors

  • Eva Veeber University of Helsinki
  • Erja Syrjäläinen University of Helsinki
  • Ene Lind Tallinn University

Abstract

Craft education has held a permanent place in Estonian and Finnish schools, although its value and appreciation have changed over time. The aim of the article is to discuss the necessity of craft education in today’s world and its possible impact on the development of children and adolescents. The discussion seeks an interdisciplinary explanation using three perspectives that complement each other. The first describes the challenges of modern society with respect to individual development and schooling. The second deals with Aaron Antonovsky's theory of generalized resistance resources and an individual's possibility to manage in a stressful society. The third addresses the individual as a developing neurological being, along with the effect of learning and practicing motor skills on the human brain. We conclude that crafts is a multidisciplinary phenomenon, and that learning and practicing crafts promotes the comprehension of diversity and challenges in life. Additionally, educational crafts enriches the learning environment, offering opportunities to develop transferable skills that human beings constantly need in society. In addition, crafts provides a balanced way to come to understand the world and one’s role in it, by simultaneously promoting motor and cognitive development and making unique demands on one’s being.

Keywords: crafts, craft education, making, sense of coherence, education, embodiment

Author Biographies

Eva Veeber, University of Helsinki

Department of Teacher Education, postgraduate student in doctoral programme of school, education, society and culture (SEDUCE)

Erja Syrjäläinen, University of Helsinki

Department of Teacher Education, Ph.D. Professor of Craft Education.

Ene Lind, Tallinn University

Department of Craft, Ph.D. Head of Department of Craft.

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Published

2015-02-26

How to Cite

Veeber, E., Syrjäläinen, E., & Lind, E. (2015). A discussion of the necessity of craft education in the 21st century. Techne Series - Research in Sloyd Education and Craft Science A, 22(1). Retrieved from https://journals.oslomet.no/index.php/techneA/article/view/875

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 1 (2015)

Section

Artikler

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