American Journal of Sociological Research

p-ISSN: 2166-5443    e-ISSN: 2166-5451

2014;  4(4): 123-126

doi:10.5923/j.sociology.20140404.03

Social Representations in the Paradigm of Vocational Education

Carla Silva

Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED), Lusophona University of Lisbon, Portugal

Correspondence to: Carla Silva, Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED), Lusophona University of Lisbon, Portugal.

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Copyright © 2014 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

This research is part of a PhD research in education. The qualitative approach to research was the analysis of narrative discourse of school directors developed through the program QSR NUD*IST Vivo (Qualitative Solutions and Research – Non-numerical Unstructured Data Indexing and Theorizing). The results of this research allowed the development of an analytical model of social representations, with an approach to social and cultural capital of vocational education in both countries of southern Europe, Portugal and Spain. Building on the cultural habitus it was possible to identify a social structure in the data, and therefore create archetypes models of social representations.

Keywords: Vocational education, Cultural reproduction, Social capital

Cite this paper: Carla Silva, Social Representations in the Paradigm of Vocational Education, American Journal of Sociological Research, Vol. 4 No. 4, 2014, pp. 123-126. doi: 10.5923/j.sociology.20140404.03.

1. Introduction

This article aims to show four models of social representation of which were part of a PhD research. The qualitative approach was the analysis of narrative discourse of school directors developed through the program QSR NUD*IST Vivo Based on the presentations of categorical groups of dimensions analysed and resuming the set of symbolic interactions that appeared in the discourse network by the intersection of dimensions, it became noticeable the idea that social and cultural representations can be configured on opposite discursive terms. Through the network of interactions in the context of a categorical group with a specific and evaluative identification by representative nodes it was possible reorganize in configuration forms different kinds of narrative identities, social representations cultural. From a psychosocial view, observed by social representations of vocational education as a bridge between learning and work, and act as if they have the identifying mechanisms of social and cultural reproduction. Each metaphor used in this investigation is idealized by a plurality of perspectives on the individual and collective behaviour, making it imperative a sociological and psychological articulation of our sample. With the aim of identifying argumentative rationale to support the construction of figures and identify type of representations profiles, we constructed a character. Thus it was possible to identify four logical narratives that constitute four "representations": The "Ogre", the "Lion King", the "Cinderella" and "Peter Pan's".

2. Social Representations

Bourdieu [5] argued that exist in the world social forces that constrain and shape the social field, guiding practices and representations. These representations are shaped by the effect of habitus, understood as an organizational structure and practice. According to Bourdieu's social reproduction strategies [5, 6], practices have in mind that lead the individual to improve or maintain the social space, depending on family capital and family social structures.
Bourdieu [7, 8] gives us that insecurity and uncertainty about the future is due to the fact that the social division is allied to absolute scrutiny given by the school jurisdiction. It is important to appreciate forms of cultural excellence and socially recognized they are not only made possible by the school. Inequality is establishing itself as a principle in the educational organization, with hints of exclusive responsibility of each individual for his own failure and misfortune, legitimizing indifference to the starting conditions, which in itself and the disfavor in which goes doubly penalized.
Vocational education [16, 17] will be bound to a strategy of social mobility under different cultural representations, both in Lisbon and Barcelona. This strategy is permeable to a strengthening of habitus, enhanced by exercise of social control and social inequalities [9]. Given this and following our overall goal, we can clearly state that strategy identified by, build up different training routes, legitimizing one internalized culture by distinct representations and practices. These findings are evidence of the general assumptions made in the analysis in data. This form of cultural reproduction plays a decisive role in the reproduction of inequality between countries and in the society of which it is part. The fight for position in the social space is raised by economic, cultural and social power, this type of education is emerging in society and the structure containing a large political connotation. The objective of providing changes through education demands that we understand the symbolic processes that occur in educational interaction, since this does not occur in a social vacuum [10, 11]. Thus we needed to contain the filling look psychosocial interviewed subject (social) with an inner world, redefining it through an ideology and social imaginary [12, 18]. These social representations intended to be key to the analysis that we intend to elaborate elements. In the representation of the figure of Ogre, idealized a metaphor for the distorted reflection, in which the strong and courageous figure appears to us as ugly and devoid of culture, associated with a low capital and culturally "poor." The figure Cinderella equated for Hope is equal to the time over the Desire, a symbology associated with the ambition that such education must be able to transform and capable young people to be able to survive in a more demanding society. The young people who are given several opportunities to grow, continually delegates the necessary majority, by the metaphor of Peter Pan and Eternals Teenager. In the discourse of school directors in all these representations was possible to associate discontent and negativistic view of vocational education in Lisbon. However, the discourse of directors in Barcelona present a sense of hope and use the vocational education in order to get further insights in the more privileged classes, however this is permanently associated with the formation in undergraduate vocational media cycle (CFG). Already the young people who attend the training higher degree (CFGS) are represented as the fittest and most culturally prepared to enter a privileged youth [13]. It's survival of the fittest in a highly competitive environment, a social Darwinism in which the means of departure determine the means of arrival and are rarely made available to everyone, represented by the “lion king”.
By a algorithm model, [that aims to relate the variables using Pearson correlation, we had demonstrated a linear regression (1) between the dimensions analyzed.
(1)
The coefficient of determination R2, by observing figure 1 shows that 96% of the proportion of variables are explained by the model therefore they are correlated by the Pearson correlation coefficient, as shown in Table 1. The correlation coefficient between the variable nodes is perfect "Lion King," "Barcelona" and "high social capital" and has a perfect negative effect of value -1, between nodes "Lisbon", indicating the recognize value of high social capital and the comparison with the Lion King, unless you assign these values to Lisbon. In contrast there is a coefficient of Pearson considered high of 0.7 between nodes "Cinderella," "Peter Pan" and "low capital", reporting on the strong correlation between these nodes. This effect is negative when placed with the node "high social capital" may be inferred that the nodes do not relate or have a reverse effect. There is a positive of 0.6 correlations between the node "Lisbon" and "low capital" and an effect of positive correlation value of 1, between node "Barcelona" and "high social capital." Pointing a perfect relationship observed between social capital and high school with Barcelona and, a moderate relationship between low social capital with Lisbon.
Figure 1. Algorithm model regression
Table 1. Pearson’s Coefficient between variables nodes
     

2.1. Ogre - The Distorted Reflection

As we have seen this is a feeling of discontent and sadness that guides the discourse of directors. The youth in vocational education is portrayed as destabilizing classifications in schools, "Patty that lowers the temperature" of school rankings. The young people remembered as the disqualified whose last resort vocational education to finish their studies, objective that otherwise could not, because it has academic skills as other students in scientific / humanistic way.
The figure of the Ogre in children's stories is depicted as a figure hideous and completely little prestigious in social context, so it is banished and forced to take other paths, as these young people in the vocational track. Expands the distinction of classes in a highly discriminatory society and can hardly recognize the beautiful in the middle of detachment from everyday social, distorting what might be considered strong and beautiful. It was possible, by this analysis, correlation dimension and concludes that, in Lisbon, there is a weight of 0.6 Relationship between low social capital and this representation. This relationship determines a habitus of resignation as operator classification, outlining a hierarchy socially accepted. The title of the school diploma offered by the vocational education system presents itself as a supreme truth of inadequacy and social maladjustment of these young people. This representation is highly contrasted with the view of the Lion King.

2.2. The Lion King - "Survival of the fittest"

In Barcelona the vocational track is a Recognized and respected socially to the labour market, there is a tendency to close the dual system in Germany as a way of representing the professional route and cycles graduation, appointed to the path via elected for training and integration into the labour market. However we note that although there are two distinctions in narrative discourse of the directors of this city on career paths, they are pursuit to follow school culture, showing the cultural reproduction in work and society. Thus the verdict undergoes school for social mobility, because the whole success of the trajectories of these young people and their future reproduction in places passes class by assuming the survival of the fittest. Although there are differences between training cycles of high and medium grade, there is a hidden discourse of representation of the story of the Lion King, arguably the king of the jungle. These directors say with some vehemence, vocational education can be used for the educational deficit of the population and that teaching such rebalancing an unbalanced system. There is, in this analogy, the perfect regression between the city of Barcelona, capital high school and this representation. Also in the story of the Lion King there are differences between animals live in the kingdom and others living outside, showing that not all groups share the same social status. Here there is indeed a call to submit the subject to the dominant order and social norms, marking the importance of maintaining social hierarchies, valuing the survival of the fittest, appealing to social Darwinism. This representation is presented with a perfect construct one value of the coefficient of Pearson, with high social capital in this city.
In Bourdieu we could argue that school serves the title input in class position, may be young people from very different trajectories that design in teaching and education pathways inside the ruling classes. The positions of classes, we have already argued, are linked to individual titles and trajectories of social mobility of the younger, made possible by a place of hope in teaching and most prestigious by a professional degree. Here grows the concept of "Cinderella."

2.3. The "Cinderella - The Hope is equal to the time more desire."

This story is intended to explain that you have to have hope and desire is also needed time to achieve. There is a process of discovery where they develop possibilities and offer opportunities, which initially did not outlined. It is an unfolding of new directions oriented one dreamed success. This is a common view among directors in Barcelona and Lisbon, although this view is in Barcelona for middle cycles. This education is interpreted mainly in the Lisbon region, as a teaching that must be very still worked and modified if you want to succeed, demonstrating a hope. The positive connotation, given the good stories, can occur for opportunities acquired by acceptance in the labour market and opportunities for life transformation of young, accomplished by acquiring a diploma socially accepted. Correlation performed found a ratio of 0.7 of this representation with low social capital in Lisbon and although a reasonable negative correlation of -0.2 between Barcelona and the high social capital with this representation.
As described in interviews Lisbon, there is a positive and hopeful vision, is the assimilation of the course from one generation to another, either by fissure that open for higher education, catapulting teaching in school, finding similarities to the symbology tale of Peter Pan.

2.4. The "Peter Pan - Eternal Teenagers"

Vocational education is seen as a mode of education in which the young woman finds ease in completing their studies and prolongs their youth. Peter Pan as these young people also wander between worlds, are now in academic now they are allowed the working world with a diploma. What would be desirable to integrate into this adult world, but as the story, the adult world is represented as bad and undesirable. There is somehow an attempt to extend the youth, showing the young like Peter Pan's, wandering between lanes, delaying decision making and maintaining a safe way fallacious. Correlation performed found a relationship of 0.6 this representation, with low capital Lisbon and reasonable, although negative relationship between -0.3 Barcelona and the high social capital with this representation.

3. Conclusions

This article is has dedicated to the research in a systematic rigor of observation which identified the social and cultural representations of eight directors under a central theme, emphasizing the importance of political and social awareness, opinions oriented in a social and cultural reflexivity of a society. We engage as active participants in research and split up the observation as spectators, under a great flexibility between these two distinct varieties and we were led to understand a social environment. This environment allowed us to understand how social groups interact, how often these interactions and their social identity. These results helped on viewing the projection that these directors do on vocational education. To try to understand how and why these perceptions, attributions, attitudes and expectations are built and maintained, we turn to metaphorical imagery of childhood, full of meaning and socially rooted tales and shared in a society that justifies. Managed to build an imaginary attributed to Darwinian concept of survival of the fittest, represented by the story of "The Lion King" associated with vocational courses and professional degrees higher (CFGS) of Barcelona and the socio concept of imaginary figure of the "Ogre", articulated the significance the value attributed to professional courses in Lisbon. Both cities seem to agree on the "Cinderella" attribute to describe a sense of hope about this pathway education. In Barcelona, this association is made for the average undergraduate courses (CFGM) while in Lisbon are attributed to professional courses in general. These young people having academic or other potential must still go through a phase of accreditation and development, which can give you maturity necessary for insertion in the labour market. There is a feeling associated to the imaginary tale of Peter Pan, portraying the youth of this teaching as eternal children who seem to live in an imaginary, not wanting to grow up and forced to remain forever young and immature, climbing routes and years of education without ever define. Barcelona's youth, who attend higher cycle training, seem to be more motivated and hold professions that allow achieving higher economic capital. Also equate that young people who graduate in medium cycles graduation, have a low socio-economic profile and are oriented to the labour market and not for continuing studies. The prestige achieved by courses having a university degree, seems to predispose to a symbolic violence in maintaining a high cultural and social capital, which is referred to Bourdieu and Passeron [3, 4]. Analysed in the two countries, the situation of the social representation of education and teaching and its social inequalities are due to many factors, including the history we have a whole different trace in this social representativeness, and that acceptance of inequality and decrease the distance central power, will only decrease by increasing the country's wealth and education of its population. The power relationship promotes within the education, distance and proximity to positions of power, in which the social, cultural and economic capital is contextualized and reproduced. The social and cultural representations that we accept as own a country and a society [14, 15], eventually form the basis of symbolic violence that deprive us of essential educational function in human relationship. However, it is through education that we develop and grow as social and capable individuals in society, and through the work that we are aware of the social and cultural positions and boundaries that surround them.

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