Productivism, Vocational and Professional Education, and the Ecological Question

Abstract

As the major supplier of skilled and certified labour, vocational and professional education (VPE) fuels the engine of economic growth. As such, it is directly implicated in the reproduction of productivism, the globally dominant ethos which presupposes that economic growth and paid work are permanent and necessary features of human existence, regardless of their consequences. This paper proposes that, in an era of eco-social risk, it is necessary to interrogate the truthclaims and normative assumptions that systematically configure VPE and its subjects for productivism. The role of productivism in the historical formation of VPE as an institution, and its constitutive effects on VPE policy and practice, are examined. In light of a critique of the logic and assumptions that underpin contemporary constructions of VPE, it is argued that productivism no longer provides a legitimate or sustainable basis for VPE. By problematizing the universal truths of productivism, it becomes possible to re-imagine VPE for alternative, post-productivist futures.

A social justice alternative for framing post-compulsory education: a human development perspective of VET in times of economic dominance

“…Educational policy and educational research in VET is often focused on counting how many students access education, or on what their backgrounds are (Anderson 2008;Climent López 1997). Because of the emphasis on techniques of making measurements, little of this work looks critically at how students are regarded and treated, or what their values and expectations are.…”

Departmental leadership for learning in vocational and professional education

“…carpenter, electrician, pipefitter) as well as degree studies that prepare for a specific job, such as nursing or social work (Anderson 2008). As such, VPE includes but is not limited to what in Europe is commonly referred to as vocational education and training (VET) and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) (Tripney and Hombrados 2013).…”

“…Is the program: (1) preparing students for participation in industry; (2) partner to shaping industry practices; or (3) leader of industry best practices? These beliefs are in turn related to questions regarding the responsibility of VPE in society: either to reproduce existing practices or be a leader of innovative change, and environmental and social responsibility (Anderson 2008).…”

“…In this paper VPE refers to education that prepares students to become qualified for a particular profession, regardless of educational level (e.g. tradesperson, health care technologist, or human resource manager) (Anderson 2008). Typically, the purpose of VPE is understood as both improving the social and economic well-being of individuals as well as serving society by ensuring an educated workforce (Adams and Gamage 2008).…”

Deficient bodies and inefficient resources: the case of disability assessment in Bulgaria

“…Thus, the human being is reduced to his/her productive capacity, clearly imagined against the background of routine, mechanical, physical labour in the factory, characteristic of the industrial mode of production. This implies the ethos of productivism, which 'imposes both an economic and moral imperative to embrace the world of work' (Anderson 2008, 110, drawing on Giddens 1994. Importantly, productivism 'reduces people and the environment to the status of human and natural resources for economic exploitation', thus overlooking 'the complex and interdependent nature of human existence' (120, emphasis added).…”