Design Conception of a sustainable educational method of textile „value chain“ through promotion of young adolescents aged 11-13 years
Cultural mediation in relation to sustainable consumer-education by means of textile designing
Despite all efforts of the EU Commission to promote „sustainable development“ and to counteract climate change, progress is slow and, despite the relevance of adapting consumption patterns, not tangible enough for consumers. 1)
Subjects of aesthetic education, such as art and textile design, are increasingly being removed from the curricula which are relevant for grasping the medium of textiles.2)
The present research focuses on the conception of a sustainable educational method to promote the appreciation of textile value creation for young adolescents aged 11-13 years. With regard to the thesis that sustainable action refering to textiles can be learnt by dealing with this medium and thus stimulating brain areas, the developed concept „Easy Jeans Upcycling“ was tested and analysed as a case study in class 7 of the Widar-School in Bochum.
As result of this case study, it was proofed that children of the said age do have the best preconditions to learn and apply sustainable ways of acting in relation to textiles, to learn and apply sustainable behaviour in relation to textiles. It could also be deduced that multi-sensory, textile design is conducive to the sustainable promotion of social, emotional, motor and cognitive competences.
The textile education format designed by Etien-Marie Hofbauer, „Easy Jeans Upcycling“ refers to the Sustainable Development Goals 4 & 12 and thus places high-quality “textile” education as a tool for sustainable consumer education at the centre of the research work.
1) vgl. Pelluchon, Corine (2018) S. 16 f (2018): Ethik der Wertschätzung, Tugenden für eine ungewisse Welt, aus dem Französischen übersetzt von Heinz Jatho unter Mitarbeit von Annette Jucknat, wgb (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft), Darmstadt
2) vgl. Becker, Christian (2007) S. 5-10 (2007): Perspektiven textiler Bildung, Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Widarschule in Bochum for their support, especially Mrs. Stolze and the pupils of class 7 for their harmonious cooperation.
Coach: Prof. Dr., Dipl.-Des. Marina-Elena Wachs Hochschule Niederrhein – University of Applied Sciences