Arbeitskreis Textilunterricht NRW   Information about us
The subject of textiles in NRW   Objectives and functions
		german version

Who are we?

- An organization for colleagues of all school types who teach the subject of textiles
- A private association
- Existing since 1972
- Consisting of about 500 colleagues
- Financing itself by the annual fee of 50 Euro

What do we want?

- We fight for the maintenance of the subject of textiles in the curriculum of schools of
  general education
- We make aware the new orientation of the subject of textiles
- We try to reduce the isolation between colleagues and school types by extensive
  information and in-service trainings

What do we do?

- We publish a magazine twice a year with information about
- School politics concerning the subject of textiles
- The activities of the board
- The annual meetings and in-service trainings
- Regional trainings, exhibitions, regional working groups, etc.
- Lessons planned and proved by colleagues
- We hold an annual meeting and conference for the members at different places all
  over NRW with changing subject matters
- We offer the interchange between colleagues of all school types in regional meetings
- We lend slide series concerning the history of costume

For more information contact: ARBEITSKREIS TEXTILUNTERRICHT NRW
Email address: info@aktextil-nrw.de

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The subject of textiles in NRW

The subject of textiles is taught in NRW in primary schools (Grundschulen) as part of
design, in all the other school types of secondary education (level I: Hauptschule,
Realschule, Gesamtschule and Gymnasium) on different scales.
New curricula for highschools (Gymnasium), forms 5+6, and secondary modern schools
(Realschule), forms 5-10, were published in 1993/94. Members of the
ARBEITSKREIS TEXTILUNTERRICHT were substantially involved in their development.
The initiative to compile curricula for comprehensive schools (Gesamtschule) was also
brought forward by members of the ARBEITSKREIS TEXTILUNTERRICHT.
The subject of textiles in NRW has been developed like all the other subjects by turning
to new dimensions, e.g. technical textiles for medical and technological purposes or the
problems of textiles and environment. The traditional education of girls in needlework
(teaching the traditional textile techniques as stitching, crocheting or knitting) has been
overcome for several reasons. Since 1975 the subject is taught co-educationally
(for girls and boys).
The subject of textiles can balance lacks of modern school systems in several ways.
Textiles are not abstract tasks that must be learned rationally. Everybody uses textiles
every day. They are reality, sensually apprehensive and can easily be accessed by
seeing or feeling. As the sensorimotor abilities of many children have decreased, it is
an important task of the subject to use the hand as a human organ that influences and
steers developments of thinking.
As the name of the subject in NRW says - Textilgestaltung deals with the design of textiles:
we use and experience them, change or form them in many possible ways. Then we try to
find an answer to the question of the function of textile material or the things made of it.
The third level textiles should be examined on is their meaning: textiles should be understood
in context of their appearance according to their meaning in the past and the present.

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