What should be solved?

More and more educators have indicated that it is important for students to have the freedom to select their own topics for project assignments in design, technology and engineering subjects. For example, the National Curriculum (Department of Education and Science, 1990) states unequivocally that students should be able to identify and clearly state the needs for design and technological activities through investigation of the contexts of home, school, recreation, community, business and industry. However, studies conducted in Hong Kong indicated that relatively little attention was paid by teachers to the specific ability of students. As such, the flexibility and opportunity for students to identify project titles are very limited, particularly in public examinations, and even in their university studies. Through in-depth interviews with engineering students who studied a design subject which allowed them freedom in identifying their project titles, this study illustrates some of the difficulties, and attempts to explore some possibilities for allowing students this freedom.