Review Article Stefanie Panke* Design Thinking in Education: Perspectives, Opportunities and Challenges

McLaughlin, Wolcott, Hubbard, Umstead and 
Rider (2019) conducted a qualitative review of 15 articles 
related to health profession education after scanning 169 
sources with “Design Thinking” in the title. They identified 
two purposes for the use in education (a) enhancing 
creativity and innovative thinking skills of individuals, (b) 
informing curricula and programs. 
In addition to literature reviews, other scholarly 
endeavors geared to develop a systematic view of 
the field in business and design thinking education. 
Three international qualitative interview studies were 
particularly influential for this article: 
Carlgren et al. (2016) conducted an interview study 
in six large companies, which led to the development of a 
framework structure and the identification of five themes 
characterizing design thinking practice in businesses: User 
focus, Problem framing, Visualization, Experimentation 
and Diversity.
Rauth et al. (2010) conducted a total of 17 semi-
structured interviews with teachers in design schools in 
Stanford (USA) and Potsdam (Germany) in order to find 
out more about the underlying methods and mechanisms 
of design thinking education. Their analysis identified 
different competencies as a result of design thinking 
education, such as prototyping skills, emotional skills, 
capability of adopting perspectives, empathy and a certain 
mindset. The development of these creative competencies 
culminates in the acquisition of creative confidence, 
which assures the students of their own ability of acting 
and thinking creatively. 
Camacho (2018) conducted a qualitative interview 
study focused on uncovering commonalities and 
variations among effective approaches of design thinking, 
based on interviews with twelve global experts. The 
project captured the convictions of experts at the forefront 
of design thinking research and practice, and identified 
three basic traits of design thinking as system-oriented, 
human-centered, and creation-based. 

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Design Thinking in Education: Perspectives, Opportunities and Challenges