VII Congresso Português de Sociologia

Contactos

VII CONGRESSO PORTUGUÊS DE SOCIOLOGIA

PARA O VII CONGRESSO PORTUGUÊS DE SOCIOLOGIA

Parceria:

Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto

Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto

Resultados da pesquisa por: «Transição para a vida activa»

PAP1351 - Partnership between the worlds of education and work – A threatening scenario or a beacon of hope?

PAP1351 - Partnership between the worlds of education and work – A threatening scenario or a beacon of hope?

Although the world of education and the world of work are unquestionably complementary the relationship between these important realities has always been uneasy. Despite strong endorsement from international bodies such as the OECD and the EU, vehemently opposed ideologies have prevented closer partnerships. Humanistic educationalists defend that schools should be shielded from the manipulative, self-serving intents of the work market. Learning programs dominated by employer interests are charged with streaming lower-class students into dead-end career options, subjecting them to exploitative practices that reinforce social inequalities. Education must allow individuals to achieve emancipation and become critically aware, autonomous citizens, capable of understanding and participating in the world they live in. Reform-minded neo-liberal enthusiasts claim, with equal strength, that educational institutions would benefit if work organizations and civil society were to play a more active role in education. They argue that the education system has contributed to economic decline and to the deterioration of school learning calling for a radical change of direction and policy. Contextualized learning, or ‘learning by doing’, is not only more effective, but also improves achievement and increases motivation. The need to improve education and training effectiveness has led to an expansion of work-based learning (WBL), Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) programs. In Portugal, IVET, at the post-compulsory level, is a complex scenario. Although multiple forms of IVET co-exist at the post-compulsory level, the Dual Apprenticeship system (DAS) – in which employers and trade unions a key role in all dimensions - represents the only genuine WBL IVET opportunity available. Despite the strong level of employability and real-world learning, it is perplexingly difficult to persuade the stakeholders in education about the value of the IVET DAS. Many within the regular school system have a poor understanding of what it is or how it works. It remains an obscure alternative out-of-school pathway. The number of those taking part in the Portuguese DAS has been decreasing and finding employers willing to participate remains difficult, leading some to question the sustainability of this alternative IVET WBL system This presentation – which draws upon an ongoing doctoral research effort - offers a historical overview and critical assessment of key underlying features of the Portuguese IVET DAS. The aim is to provide a deeper understanding of this obscure alternative IVET pathway that has, over the course of almost three decades, engaged thousands of participants and employers nationwide in the only genuinely WBL, out-of-school initiative that has ever existed in Portugal.

ARAÚJO, Marcelo Machado
TORRES, Leonor Lima