Yrkesutbildning eller yrkesbildning: vad lär vi oss egentligen? En introduktion till empirisk yrkesbildningsdidaktik

[Vocational Bildung or Vocational training: what do we really learn? An introduction to empirical vocational Bildung didactics]

Abstract

The Bildung contents and processes of vocational education and training is the focus of this article. This is something that has, for the most part, been treated on a philosophical level previously and where the intent here is to discuss how empirical research into vocational Bildung didactics can be conducted and what kinds of knowledge it can contribute. In the Bildung-philosophical discussion vocational education has historically often been contrasted with general Bildung and part of an empirical inquiry into vocational Bildung didactics is to surface the actual experiences of Bildung that vocational education and training can afford. The inquiry is based on an extensive explorative study of craft master Wolfgang B. and his vocational education biography. A part of this biographical study is presented in the article where the conversation centres on a vocational task he remembers and the various vocational Bildung affordances that can be found in his account. This leads to a more nuanced understanding of the concept of vocational Bildung and to a concluding discussion of the various ways in which this kind of empirical studies in vocational Bildung didactics can contribute to both research and practice.