Abstract:

Abstract Basic design education is the basic training provided in the education of professionals whose job will be to design technically sound, liveable spaces and consequently society. This education, founded on knowledge and socio-cultural experience, is of vital importance. It forms the student’s identity and is used at all stages of the profession. However, there are few academic studies that seek to determine the relationship between design education and the students’ previous education, family backgrounds, fields of interest and past experience. In view of this gap in the literature, the present article considers the cultural knowledge and education of basic design students in conjunction with their academic performance and observations of their classes. The article argues that, in basic design education in urban planning, there is a relationship between the students’ cultural backgrounds and previous education and the development of their design-oriented thinking and creativity, and that this can be demonstrated with reference to various specific factors. The role of students’ identities in the development of their design thinking and creative thinking, and in their academic performance, was examined for a given sample of students with the help of a questionnaire. The findings are discussed from a critical perspective. The research was conducted in the basic design class of the Urban and Regional Planning Department of Süleyman Demirel University in the Fall semesters of two successive academic years (2018-2019 and 2019-2020). In addition to the quantitative and qualitative data obtained by means of the questionnaire, the academic performances of the students in the Spring and Fall semesters and observations made during the classes were used as inputs to the comparative analysis. The research was designed to evaluate the questionnaire and compare certain findings between academic performance at the end of the first and second semesters. It was supported by a review of the literature. The research universe consisted of a total of 121 subjects divided into two groups (Group I and Group II). A statistical analysis was conducted of the data obtained by deriving the numbers and calculating the percentages. The students were found to have almost homogeneous educational backgrounds and to have been selected based on mathematics-weighted scores. The responses given to the questionnaire, the academic performances and the observations were identical or compatible for each of the two groups. A number of factors were identified that affect the development of design thinking and creative thinking, design judgement and the educational methodology, plan and process, and these were adopted as parameters. These factors were categorised as follows: choice of department and the reasons for it; the students’ cultural background; the education of the students and the education and professional profile of their parents, and the development of analytical and critical thinking. The performance of students in the university entrance examination determines their academic success. For most of the students who were successful at school, the department was their department of choice. However, the fact that these students had chosen the department of their own volition and been accepted into it on the basis of their mathematics-weighted scores in the entrance examination did not mean that they had been able to develop creative thinking. The majority passed the class with a relatively poor performance. Students accepted from higher brackets have some difficulty in understanding or comprehending the subject. These low levels of perceptions are thought to stem from the orientation of the students, during their secondary education, towards a way of thinking that prioritises test-solving, and from dependency on mobile phones and games. The research does not provide sufficient data to support the view that individuals who receive pre-school education develop creative thinking more easily. The only clear finding is that the students lack imagination. The level of socio-cultural experience of the kind needed to ensure eye-hand-mind coordination in the development of design judgement and visual perception skills is low. This analysis also shows that the father’s training is also a determinant of academic performance. Students who stated that they did not possess analytical and systematic thinking skills and showing no interest in fine arts or playing games were found to be unsuccessful in developing design and creative thinking and perception skills and in creating designs responsive to the problem set. In consequence, during the course of the education provided, the majority of the students do not acquire the skills required to carry out the five design activities needed for the practice of design, and have no desire to develop a capacity for design judgement. The conclusion was reached that the cultural and educational backgrounds of students are an input that needs to be taken into account when determining the methodology for basic design education and planning the courses.

Keywords: