Handicraft in the Context of Sustainable Education

Abstract

Each century brings something new and unprecedented to the characterization of the era. It has its own values and the view of the world. The 21st century is characterized by rapid changes in economics, politics, and the development of different technologies. The young person comes into the social environment with other interests and desires, with high demands, with activity and competitiveness. Human values are changing as well. It is a challenge for education, its product, for the education of a new person, for sustainable thinking and action. The public opinion is turned to the sustainable development of the society. There is much debate about the education for sustainable development. The competences and learning habits acquired at school are essential for developing new skills for new jobs later in life. The change of paradigm in education also involves the change of teachers' and students' competences. The development of an up-to-date educational content and approach takes place in Latvia, too. Home Economics and technologies is one of the subjects at school, where education for sustainable development is carried out. Home economics and technologies deals with various topics related to sustainable development. One of those topics is "Handicraft". The teaching and learning process in handicraft lessons is being looked through the point of view of education for sustainable development. Handicraft as a handmade product is a popular household object. Handicraft is acquiring another value compared to industrially made mass production goods. The aim of the research is to determine the students' attitude towards handicraft. The research methods such as questionnaires and discussions were used in the current investigation. The place of the research: Jelgava, Latvia. Altogether 255 respondents take part in this investigation. Results show a variety of respondents' groups. The obtained results reveal that respondents mainly like to wear, use handicraft products, that handicraft is respected in families. The results of the questionnaire convincingly show that the theme Handicraft must be included in the curriculum. It is shown by the majority of the respondents from all the groups.