Sometimes international VET research has to dig deep into cultural context in order to understand reasoning and action of individuals related to training and work. The project KuPraMex (Cultural Practice of Non-Academic Work in Mexico) explores cultural representations of non-academic work in Mexico using the analysis of non-visual and visual artefacts (e.g., Bohnsack, 2008). This approach is currently discussed by disciplines such as economics and social sciences with reference to the so-called "visual turn" (Boxenbaum et al., 2018). Although the analysis of artefacts, within the scope of sociological theory formation, is rather a marginal phenomenon (Lueger & Froschauer, 2018), its relevance for theorising cannot be negated (Lueger, 2010). Artefacts are put into the material world by people and, therefore, represent the practices through which they were created. At the same time, their creation is not without effects on the social world. Owing to that reciprocity, artefact analysis seems an attractive way to analyse complex interactions between individuals, social structures and cultural contexts in foreign societies. Within the project we carry out a comprehensive analysis of visual as well as non-visual artefacts, related to the cultural context of Mexico, in order to analyse prevailing connotations, images of non-academic work. In the words of Moscovici (1988), the aim is to identify the circulating social representations. Against that background, the potential of artefact analysis for intercultural sensitive studies in foreign VET systems like Mexico will be discussed. In the context of the project, it was possible to get to the central core of social representations (Abric, 1993) of non-academic work by analysing artefacts such as tele-novelas, films, memes, murals or novels. With the help of theoretically based analysis schemes about social formations of labour, as well as open minded search for in situ findings, the project team was able to extract core hypotheses about social representation of non-academic work in various working fields. These proved to be very helpful for the further project steps, such as the development of survey instruments. Moreover, this way of approaching the partly unknown research context seemed to generate a certain degree of intercultural awareness. However, as each method has its limits, it makes sense to combine artefact analysis with other methods, e.g., interviews. Overall, the analysis of artefacts shows great potential for international VET research, for when combined with other methods it can contribute to a deeper understanding of culturally shaped meanings and values.
