Design Education for the Knowledge Society: An Action Research Study of Implementing a Liberal Arts Approach to Industrial Design Education

Educationists have argued that professional design education has come to function as an alternative form of general liberal arts education. However, professional design education has not fully embraced the liberal arts model of education for democratic citizenship. More often design education teaches skills for maximizing economic growth. I investigated the implications of the liberal arts approach to design education by conducting action research in an industrial design program at a public university. The insights reveal that shifting from skills-based vocational training to knowledge-based liberal education is not only a matter of implementing different pedagogical methods, there may also be changes in teacher identity. I conclude that the abilities crucial for the liberal arts model of education for democracy align with the aspects of design education for post-industrial economies and the knowledge society.