Abstract
This study analyses 1,706 undergraduate textile design projects from Loughborough University (1999– 2025) to trace changes in materials, methods, and themes in UK textile pedagogy. A mixed-methods design integrates grounded coding of images and catalogue descriptions with set-theoretic analysis (QCA) and descriptive trend charts. Findings show (a) a post-2015 inflection in digital practice (DIG), (b) rising sustainability intent (SUS), and (c) stable but evolving cultural/locational theming (CUL). Two robust “recipes” for material/process innovation (MAT) are identified—DIG·SUS → MAT and DIG·CUL → MAT—while DIG approaches necessity after 2015. A FAIR-aligned archive was built in the Loughborough University Repository with persistent identifiers, Dublin Core metadata extended by textile-specific fields, controlled vocabularies, and ORCID attribution to enable reuse and audit. Limitations include single-site bias, uneven early metadata, and rights/sensitivity constraints. The paper closes with actionable curriculum recommendations focused on hand–machine integration, process assessment, open infrastructures, and periodic recalibration.
Keywords
Textile pedagogy; Mixed methods; QCA; Digital craft
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.476
Citation
Samshad, D.B.(2025) Mapping the Evolution of Textile Design Pedagogy in the UK: Undergraduate Insights from Loughborough University, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.476
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 12 - Design Education
Mapping the Evolution of Textile Design Pedagogy in the UK: Undergraduate Insights from Loughborough University
This study analyses 1,706 undergraduate textile design projects from Loughborough University (1999– 2025) to trace changes in materials, methods, and themes in UK textile pedagogy. A mixed-methods design integrates grounded coding of images and catalogue descriptions with set-theoretic analysis (QCA) and descriptive trend charts. Findings show (a) a post-2015 inflection in digital practice (DIG), (b) rising sustainability intent (SUS), and (c) stable but evolving cultural/locational theming (CUL). Two robust “recipes” for material/process innovation (MAT) are identified—DIG·SUS → MAT and DIG·CUL → MAT—while DIG approaches necessity after 2015. A FAIR-aligned archive was built in the Loughborough University Repository with persistent identifiers, Dublin Core metadata extended by textile-specific fields, controlled vocabularies, and ORCID attribution to enable reuse and audit. Limitations include single-site bias, uneven early metadata, and rights/sensitivity constraints. The paper closes with actionable curriculum recommendations focused on hand–machine integration, process assessment, open infrastructures, and periodic recalibration.