The Prospects of Introducing Design Theory to Master Craftsmen in Dressmaking Within the New Juaben Municipality in Ghana
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Date
2018-10
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KNUST
Abstract
The study was conducted to introduce design theory to master craftsmen in
dressmaking within the New Juaben Municipality. Consequently, the study focused
on identifying the teaching and learning processes in the production of ladies’ apparel,
analysing the impact of design theory on the performance of master craftsmen in
dressmaking, determining the readiness and preparedness of master craftsmen for the
introduction of design theory into dressmaking industry within the New Juaben
Municipality. Concurrently, the study reviewed literature related to the Concept of
Design and Designing, elements and principles of design, design theory, concepts of
clothing, theories of cloth wearing, concept of figure types, sewing equipment’s and
tools, teaching and learning techniques in dressmaking, concepts of craftsmanship and
master craftsmen and concept of apprenticeship and apprentice. A mixed research
method was employed in the study where structured questionnaire and semi structured interview were used to solicit information from the respondents. The
questionnaire was designed and self- administered to 83 master craftsmen and zonal
leaders and 12 were administered to apprentices totaling 95 respondents. Purposive
sampling technique was employed in the selection of respondents for the study. Both
quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 and the analysis were presented using simple
descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The study yielded some interesting results
and provided deeper insight into the design theory. The study revealed that master
craftsmen use no formal curriculum in training their apprentices and training is solely
practical based while at the same time, teaching techniques are left to the discretion of
the master craftsmen. The study again revealed that both master craftsmen and
apprentices agree to a large extent inculcating the design theory in their activities will
increase their dressmaking opportunities and also increase their effectiveness and
efficiency. Finally, the study concludes that Design Theory would significantly
improve the skills of master craftsmen in training apprentices. The study thus
recommends that, a workshop should be organized by Ghana National Tailors and
Dressmakers Association (GNTDA) for all master craftsmen within the municipality
on the application of the design theory to keep them abreast with modern techniques
in dressmaking.
Description
A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY