Session Information
02 SES 02 B, International Perspectives on VET I: Skills
Paper Session
Contribution
Homo sapiens, homo sociologicus, homo oeconomicus, homo strategicus are only some of the homo-profiles used to map the direction of society in a given period of time. The last two decades there is a turn in the way anticipated versions of society and individuals are profiled in the economic and policy making discourse. First, in the society level, there is a growing acknowledgement of the importance of happiness and well-being. EU in the “Beyond GDP” approach (Wesselink, 2007; Stiglitz et al. 2009) has acknowledged the need to make the distinction between “growth” and “development”, to move to a different direction and to look for “better metrics” that could produce different outcomes, and has included the “well-being of the European population” in the Health 2020 agenda and in the indicators of the European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS). Second, in the individual level, character qualities and resilience come progressively to complete previous predominance of work related skills needed to assure employability, prosperity and social cohesion (World economic forum, 2015:3; World Bank, 2015:1,15; World Bank, 2017; JRC, 2015; PASAG, 2016). In this context, it seems that the profile of the high-skilled and resilient homo adaptus (Cedefop, 2018) is the profile of the homo needed in this period.
This paper follows the same line of thinking to build both a theoretical and a methodological argument. First, in the theoretical level, the paper argues that a) it is time to take into consideration, in the discussion of educational inequalities ontological resources such as happiness and imagination, that belong to the theoretical substratum of the afore mentioned turn and argues that the absence of these resources forms an ontological disadvantage that acts corrosively (Wolf and de Shalit, 2007) affecting a person’s capability to develop further secure functionings (Sen, 1987). In order to define ontological disadvantage, the paper draws on capability approach (Sen, 1987, 1990, 1995; Nussbaum, 2011), theory of disadvantage (Wolf and de Salit, 2007), happiness and well–being research (Aristote; Ryan et al. 2006; Ryff, 2008; Seligman, 2011) and utopian thinking (Papastefanou, 2008, 2013; Webb, 2017; Bradley & Argenton, 2018).
Second, the paper underlines the lack of metrics for the above type of disadvantage, and proposes a methodology of an early warning system able to detect symptoms of ontological disadvantage before they become visible manifestations in educational underperformance. The proposed early warning system is composed by two main research tools: a) Reflexive cartographies based on dream (under the form of treasure maps) and b) semi-structured elicitation interviews to explore, to understand, to capture the meanings emerging in treasure maps, given that the meanings of the maps, as for all visual productions, may vary from the one viewer to the other. Our aim was to create a metric that goes “beyond the standardization of statistics and language” (Banks, 2007:119) and that is theoretically consistent, politically relevant and empirically measurable, able to ensure compatibility between countries and regions (European Parliament, 2011).
In sum, this paper has a triple objective: establish the existence of an ontological form of disadvantage, propose a methodology of an early warning system able to make its symptoms visible the earliest possible, and prove the need for a better “tuning” between the sociology of education in the policy making level and sociologies of the field.
Method
In order to explore the homo-profiles in the field, we used a mixed method qualitative research, based on the design of the early warning system mentioned above. Research was conducted in 222 15-18 years old vocational education students in Italy, France and Greece, all coming from vulnerable socio-economic environments. Reflexive cartographies and elicitation interviews were the main research tools used for this research. SPSS and MAXQDA software were used for the coding and the analysis of the results. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis was made in order to locate invisible clusters of ontological disadvantage.
Expected Outcomes
Research revealed a highly common discourse across the students of the three countries revealing two points of friction with the profile of homo adaptus. First, student’s imaginary conceptions of possibility appear to be at odds with the skill related profiling of policy makers, as they report fear to fail or unwillingness to fit the anticipated homo profile. Second, analysis of students’ imaginary conceptions of possibility revealed a self-reported phobic, a-social and a-topian homo profile which testifies a second clash with the direction of well-being in society. One way Anova correlations showed that there are statistically important differences between the type of area (urban or rural) in Italy and Greece and between specializations and type of class in France. The paper concludes by stressing the need to reflect on the responsibilities entailed in the homo profiling process and the raised equality issues, as previous clashes between more or less distant civilizations, seem to have been replaced by clashes in the immediate social proximity, amongst populations with matching and mismatching homo profiles.
References
Banks, M. (2007). Using Visual Data in Qualitative Research. London: Sage. Bradley, J.P.N. & Argenton, G. (2018). Educational ills ans the (im)possibility of utopia. Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2019.1520588 Cedefop, 2018. The future of skills. What does data tell us? Chatzichristou, St. 15 November, 2018, Brussels. http://www.cedefop.europa.eu European Parliament. (2011). Report on GDP and Beyond-Measuring progress in a changing world (2010/2088(INI)), pp. 1-33. Nussbaum, M. (2011). Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach, Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. Papastefanou, M. (2008). Dystopian Reality, Utopian Thought and educational Practice. Studies in philosophy and Education, 27, 89-102. Papastefanou, M. (2009). Educated Fear and Educated Hope.Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Papastefanou, M. (2013). Utopian Education and Anti-Utopian Anthropology. International Education Studies, 6(2), 22-32. Ryff, C.D. & B.H. Singer. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: a eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 13-39. Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press. Seligman, M. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New –York: Simon & Schuster. Sen, A. (1987). The standard of living. In G. Hawthorn (Ed.), The Standard of Living, Cambridge University Press. Sen, A. 1990. Justice: means versus freedoms. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 19, 111-121. Sen, A. 1995. Gender inequality and theories of justice. In M. Nussbaum and J. Glover (Eds.), Women, Culture and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Stiglitz, J.E., Sen, A. & J-P. Fitoussi. (2009). The measurement of economic performance and social progress revisited. OFCE-Centre de recherché en economie de Sciences Po. December 2009. No. 2009-33. pp:1-63. Webb, D. (2017). Educational archeology and the practice of utopian pedagogy. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 25(4):551-566. Wesselink, B., Bakkes, J., Best, A., Hinterberger, F. & P. ten Brink. (2007). Measurement Beyond GDP. Background paper for the Conference Beyond GDP: Measuring Progress, true wealth, and the well-being of nations. International Conference, 19 &20 November 2007, Brussels. Available at: www.beyond-gdp.eu . Wolff, J. & de-Shalit, A. (2007). Disadvantage, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Wolff, J. & de-Shalit, A. (2013). On Fertile Functionings: A Response to Martha Nussbaum. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 14(1), 161-165. World Bank (2017, August 5). Non-cognitive skills: What are they and why should we care? Retrieved from: https://blogs.worldbank.orh/education/non-cognitive-skills-what-are-they-and-why-should-we-care. World Bank Group. (2015). Directions in Development. Human Development. Taking Stock of Programs to Develop Socioemotional Skills. A systematic Review of Program Evidence. pp.1-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0872-2 World Economic Forum. (2015). New Vision for Education. Unlocking the Potential of Technology.pp:1-30, www.weforum.org
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