Critical reflexivity and vocational education for life

This paper draws on the philosophy of critical realism (CR) to develop the concept of ‘critical reflexivity’ to theorise the nature of, and purposes of, vocational education. In CR, the interplay between structure and agency is explained by the ‘transformational model of social activity’ (TMSA) (Bhaskar 1979). In TMSA, structure is a precondition to agency; agentic actions can alter or reproduce structures. Margaret Archer (2000) explains that human agency is an emergent property of power that links people’s concerns and actions. While agency is irreducible from mind and embodiment, our inner worldview is intrinsic to our agency. To act, people need a sense of meaning about what they are doing and what should be done. Our inner worldview includes our emotional response to experiences in the real world, and in addition to structure, our inner life is causal to our personality (Archer 2000; Rosenblad and Wheelahan Forthcoming). The concept of ‘critical reflexivity’ is being developed upon this viewpoint, relating it to the ethics of social life, morality and self-worth (see Collier 1999; Sayer 2011). We argue that it is ‘critical’ for education and emancipatory approaches because it doesn’t reject transformative change; it does include the possibility for new thinking which can be learned.
This paper draws on the concept of ‘critical reflexivity’ to analyse Finnish VET and contemporary competency-based training (CBT). In Finland in the past decade, the imposition of CBT has resulted in a utilitarian focus on the atomistic individual, increasing social inequality and accompanying techno-economic rationality (Rosenblad, Schaffar, and Löfström 2022). Especially in VET, the notion of ‘vocational skills’ responds to those things – disembodied skills that are considered independently of things, people and social contexts (Rosenblad and Wheelahan Forthcoming). In virtue of vocational education based on ‘critical reflexivity’, people’s skills are embodied and open-ended (not ends-rationalised like in CBT). To act skilfully, people must consider things that matter for themselves and others, i.e., what is between values and surroundings and what has been and what could become (not only what is). This is why ‘critical reflexivity’ helps people qualify for jobs that make them feel whole. In contrast to CBT, it doesn’t exhaust the ethics of social life, morality, self-worth, or the personal lives of people living in a local community. For education policy, in drawing upon TMSA, ‘critical reflexivity’ is an instrument of awareness that supports proactive work for a better society and a sustainable economy.

Bibliography

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Bhaskar, Roy. 1979. The Possibility of Naturalism: A Philosophical Critique of the Contemporary Human Sciences. 3 ed. London & New York: Routledge.
Collier, A. 1999. Being and Worth. London: Routledge.
Rosenblad, N, B Schaffar, and E Löfström. 2022. "The grey zone between individualised goal and actual need: a CHAT analysis of student counselling within VET." Journal of Vocational Education & Training:1040-61. doi: 10.1080/13636820.2022.2144933.
Rosenblad, Niklas, and Leesa Wheelahan. Forthcoming. "The ontology of personhood and a realist critique of the policy discourse based on skills." British Journal of Sociology of Education.
Sayer, Andrew. 2011. Why things matter to people: Social science, values and ethical life: Cambridge University Press.