Abstract

This study attempts to explore the institutional and personal aspects of learning difficulties of industrial design (ID) students in Taiwan. The study was conducted in three stages: First, five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to gain a general contextual understanding of learning difficulties. Then, a questionnaire was developed and used in a pre-test survey of forty students. Lastly, 360 ID students recruited from four universities completed the survey. The institutional aspects causing ID students’ learning difficulties primarily involve the location of universities, specificity and inconsistency of instructors’ criticisms on design works. The personal aspects causing learning difficulties mainly refer to time management, learning skills and method, and career decision. Analysis shows that students’ learning difficulties differ with gender, year in university, school, background in high school, and academic performance. Finally, based on the findings, some implications for design pedagogy and evaluation are discussed, and then further research is proposed.