Title: Comparison of national E&T-cultures: findings of a transnational research project in UK, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal
Abstract: The paper presents the findings of a transnational project shedding some light on the role of national VET cultures in 5 EU-member-states performing joint labour market policies. In focus group interviews with the main social actors in VET, trainees, industria lists and trainers, both intracultural between the groups and inter-cultural differences between the countries will be investigated. Introduction Interestingly enough, the globalisation of all economic and as a consequence all social relations, the equalisation of competition, in Europe reinforced by the process of political and economical integration, has revealed and also reinforced the importance of the hidden concepts of the social actors within social structures in the field of employment, work and work-related teaching learning. Differences in coping with equalised global challenges are both based on institutional and on cultural factors. The ways in which strategies and actions in the field of employment, work and training are carried out by the social actors (employees, entrepreneurs, trade-unionists, politicians and policy makers, etc . . .) in the Member States of the European Union are strictly dependent on the social representations concerning issues such as “vocational training”, “occupation/ profession,” “work organisation” in the different countries. However, major differences emerge for what concerns the cultures of VET– the way in which VET is regarded by the employers and the other actors in the work system, and the way in which it is experienced by the trainees. Therefore, the success of the policies responding to globalised challenges in an integrating Europe seem to be based not only on institutional arrangements but also on the recognition and mutual understanding of the meanings and representations concerning these issues within the European Countries. The paper presents a LEONARDO da VINCI project, which tries to shed light on the identities and differences in socially shared meanings, and social representations in the different participating countries, UK, France, Portugal, Italy and Germany. The Project Concept The project is based on a set of conceptual assumptions, deriving from research and literature concerning two main thematic areas: cultural differences and social representations. Cultural Differences In recent years, diversity in national and group cultures has been studied by scholars who showed how cultural differences constitute powerful predictors of how people behave in organisations and institutions. For example Hofstede et. al. (1990) recognised different national value systems in the areas of social inequality and relation to authority; relations between the group and the individual; social implications of gender (being a male, a female, or other gender); ways of dealing with uncertainty, controlling aggression, expressing emotions, and orientation toward time (e.g., short vs. long term). Hampden, Turner and Trompenaars (1993) also pursued broad in depth comparison between European cultures using the dimension of attitude toward security and norms, interpretation of the relation between mankind and nature, attitude toward individual and national identity, attitude with respect to family values, religion, conception of time and work organisation, and hierarchical distance. Similar findings were presented by Hofstede (1991). These national and regional differences are of course embodied in, and sustained by, the institutional arrangements, regulating bodies, and practices carried out in the different member states. A crucial dimension relates to differences in power structure: in every country the structure of power is affected by several variables such as relation of private and public power; range, aims, and forms of state interventions; form and distribution of power and local authorities (democracy, federal, centralised state). Economic differences are relevant. For example structure, performance, technology, and labour market structure conditions differentiate the economies of each country. Differences in the institutional arrangement and learning styles are another dimension of national differentiation. Educational and training systems usually vary in relation to specific configurations of the above elements. Differences involve structure, administration, curricula and regulations, pedagogical attitudes and teaching methods. Such differences combine at the various levels, for example with the value attributed to the diffusion of technology and awareness of its benefits and constraints. Together, they come together to determine the prevalence of specific learning strategies and learning styles at the individual level.Cultural differences permeate all the aspects of VET and create national and sub-national specificies of VET systems. Recent works analysing the assumptions and values regulating VET in different countries have begun to identify the cultural premises which allow national VET systems to work effectively. Although such works are based mainly on impressionistic data and do not carry out extensive cross national comparisons, they shed light on the importance of cultural aspects for understanding the specific actions and actors in different VET systems at the national level. Social Representations Different theories and constructs provide explanations of the link between the way people make sense of themselves and the world and the way they act. Among them is the theory of social representation introduced three decades ago to account for the links between broader cultural beliefs, attitudes and behaviour. In short, social representations can be defined as the elaboration of an object by a community which enables its members to behave in a comprehensible manner and to communicate. These representations are cultural systems with a logic and a language enabling the members of a community to organise the conditions and contexts of their interactions. On the one hand, social representations allow individuals and groups to construct a coherent vision of reality which they use to orient their behaviour. On the other, they are the outcome of mental activity modulated by the features of the social situation in which they are produced (Gherardi, 1998). In this sense, social representations provide a link between attitudes and behaviours and give reason of the co-ordinated behaviour of people toward the same phenomenon, or different behaviours under different cultural circumstances. Representations of VET are likely to determine a number of differences in the ways the system is perceived by the different actors involved determining, or concurring to determine. Methodological Considerations The research design is based on the progressive enrichment and refinement of an explanatory framework based mainly on a set of focus groups interviews and a series of working conferences. The Initial Working Hyphothesis Representations of VET are likely to determine a number of differences in the ways the system is perceived by the different actors involved determining, or concurring to determine. Such differences are likely to include: • the level of consideration granted to VET; • the relation between VET system and the economic world; • the social perception and labelling of trainees within and outside the workplace; • the status accorded to trainees and apprentices within the workplace and in the wider social context, including the form of contractual arrangement between trainee and employer; • the level of involvement in the work activ ities; • the attribution of responsibility for training; • the relations between learners and teachers, and between trainers and teachers; • the perception of VET employers and trainers; • the relations between VET activities and other forms of instruction and education. Eliciting Representations of VET using the “Focus
Publication Year: 2000
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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