Paradoxical narratives about Industrial Technology

Johansson, M. C., & Asghari, H. (2021). Paradoxical narratives about Industrial Technology. In C. Nägele, B.E. Stalder, & M. Weich (Eds.), Pathways in Vocational Education and Training and Lifelong Learning. Proceedings of the 4th Crossing Boundaries Conference in Vocational Education and Training, Muttenz and Bern online, 8. – 9. April (pp. 177–182). European Research Network on Vocational Education and Training, VETNET, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and Bern University of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4609269

Paradoxical Narratives About Industrial Technology

maria.c.johansson@mau.se, Malmo University Asghari, Hamid

hamid.asghari@kau.se, Karlstad University Abstract

Within the Swedish context, this paper sets out to describe and analyse the declining interest in work and education linked to Industrial Technology. This is made through the narratives of different agents connected to Industrial Technology. Thus, a narrative approach is adopted, supported by vocational knowing and pride as analytical concepts. The results reveal that the narratives connected to the Industrial Technology are quite paradoxical, starting with negative accounts turning into quite positive ones. On one hand, industrial work is described as easy, requiring little knowledge, and as being dirty. On the other hand, industrial education and work are described as filled with opportunities for individuals as well as for society and complex vocational knowing of which the workers and students are rightfully proud. This implies that vocational knowing and pride are shadowed by the negative narratives, which may affect the public interest in industrial work and education.

Keywords

industrial technology, narratives, vocational knowing, vocational pride 1 Context and background

As lecturers in Vocational Teacher Education (VTE) in Sweden, we share a common concern about Vocational Education and Training (VET) connected to Industrial Technology. We also share experiences of having heard students and others speaking negatively about Industrial Technology. Additionally, we have noticed a decreasing number of students in VTE with an industrial focus. In communication with a vocational teacher our concerns were further strengthened:

When I started 2008, there were three of us vocational teachers. Me, Kenny and Jonathan (pseudonyms). We had more than 70 pupils in the Industrial Technology Programme. I myself had 30 first year students. Kenny and Jon-athan had around 40 or 50 students. Sometimes we had the students all to-gether in the school workshop and by then we complained about the schedule. How the hell do they plan this, we said. There were not enough machines for the students. Now it is a completely different situation. Now we only have two students in the Industrial Technology Programme. (Personal communi-cation with a vocommuni-cational teacher)

According to an official State report (SOU 2020:33), there is a decreasing interest in applying for vocational education and particularly to the Industrial Technology Programme. Sweden is also suffering from a shortage of vocational teachers (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2019). With fewer applicants, some Industrial Technology Programme have closed (SOU 2020:33). Consequently, Industrial Technology companies lack skilled workers, and the short-age is likely to grow with the difficulties in recruiting both vocational teachers and students. According to an investigation made by a trade organisation, The Association of Swedish Engi-neering Industries (2018):

• the business is affected by difficulties in recruiting in three out of four member companies • half of the companies have not been able to produce the expected amount of goods and

services due to a lack of skilled workers

• a third of the member companies have lost potential dealings because of the recruitment situation, which is particularly worrying for example within automation and CNC-opera-tion, areas for which the Industrial Technology programme plays a significant role

Against this background and the seemingly weak interest in VET and Industrial Technology, we developed our aim.

2 Research aim and questions

The aim of this pilot study is to describe and analyse the declining interest in work and voca-tional education and training linked to Industrial Technology through the narratives of different agents.

The aim is operationalised through the following research questions:

RQ 1: Which descriptions of the Industrial Technology Programme and Industrial Technology appear in the narratives of vocational teachers, the students, and Industry representatives (such as the trade and the trade union)?

RQ 2: What do these narratives reveal about the declining interest in vocational training related to Industrial Technology?

3 Methodology

This study is based on a narrative approach (Andrews et al., 2013; Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995) with an ambition to grasp the narratives about Industrial Technology among agents with con-nections to the Industry. To obtain breadth, but not at expense of depth, we selected a broad range of agents but only a few from each group. The selection was composed of one trade union representative, one representative from the technology companies, one CEO of a technology company, four Swedish vocational teachers, and five vocational students. In order to cover ba-sically the same topics in each interview we had a semi-structured guide (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2008). The three overarching themes were oriented towards the background of the informant, perceptions about Industrial Technology itself, and related VET. Under each theme we had a set of probing questions.

The narratives were analysed thematically (Lieblich et al., 1998). Based on Lieblich et al. (1998), the analysis focused on the descriptions that were highlighted as significant by several of the interviewees. We also paid attention to unique situations and narratives relevant to the aim. We had a reflexive and inductive approach with regards to our empirical findings and theories. Furthermore, we could also benefit from the fact that one of the authors has a back-ground in Industrial Technology and as vocational teacher, whereas the other could reflect upon what was taken for granted from an inside perspective. This was based on having knowledge

and experience from long lasting involvement in Industrial Technology. Drawing on Asghari (2014) we also accounted for ourselves as co-constructors of the narratives.

Throughout the study we followed the ethical guidelines provided by the Swedish Research Council (2017). All informants were given informed consent, were assured anonymity, and were clearly informed about the study and that they could withdraw their participation at any time. Early in the research process it became quite clear that the informants talked about Indus-trial Technology as a non-attractive choice, but they also added that it involves advanced voca-tional knowing. This made us focus on vocavoca-tional knowing and pride as analytical concepts. These are described next.

4 Analytical concepts/theories

The theoretical and analytical concepts in the study focus on vocational knowing and pride, in general and with particular focus on Industrial Technology. Billet (2011) notes that a vocation derives from culturally- and historically-based activities which carry worth for individuals as well as for the community. This means that vocational knowing is embedded into a practice where it both fulfils a function and is a source of personal development (Carlgren, 2015). Thus, a vocation and its knowing are connected to vocational pride (Johansson, 2019). Vocational knowing is, among other things, dependent on the mastering of specific tools, machines, and computers, while using a specific vocational language (Lindberg, 2003).

Earlier research on the Industrial Technology from an educational perspective has high-lighted the relation between the learners/workers and technology (see e.g., Abdurasool & Mishra, 2009, 2010; Berner, 1989, 2009, 2010; Hiims, 2013; Kilbrink & Asplund, 2020). Alt-hough technology and technique are emphasised along with relations, there are also accounts for more sensuous aspects of industrial vocational knowing. For example, Berner (1989) wrote that it is important in automated processes to have open senses, a responsive body, and fingertip feeling. Also, welding is dependent on perceiving certain shapes and colours of the hot metal, as noted by Kilbrink and Asplund (2020).

Perby (1995) studied what she labelled “the world of knowledge of work” within two in-dustries undergoing change from manual towards automated processes. She argued that the common methods of analysis are insufficient for the understanding of vocational knowing. Perby followed process operators closely over years and initiated dialogues with them. She noted that, from an outsider perspective, it could be perceived as if the process operators need only to follow instructions. The operators, on their part, talked about their job as driving the process and warned Perby about jumping to conclusions that being an operator is easy. It would be as foolish to question whether the bus driver drives the bus as it would be to question whether the process operator drives the process, she argued. Knowledge, commonly labelled as theoret-ical, is in vocational knowing inextricably interwoven with personal and tacit knowledge (see e.g.,Janik, 1996; Polanyi, 1983). Such vocational knowing is crucial for making judgements in response to extraordinary events, such as an unexpected change in the process. To be attentive and able to tackle the unexpected the process operators talked about knowing and feeling the process and about the factory itself as having agency. The factory was described as having temper, for example as being nice, capricious, or skittish (Perby, 1995).

5 Results and preliminary analysis

Industrial Technology as a vocational choice was surrounded by ambiguity in all the narratives. The concept of Industrial Technology involved many different vocational paths and trajectories. Consequently, there were different sorts of vocational knowing, for example, both welding as a traditional handicraft and programming high-tech automation processes. Also, jobs like hole-punching on an assembly line turned up in the narratives. At first these jobs were described as simple, with little or no relation to advanced vocational knowing and pride. However, as the

narratives played out this changed radically and became connected to vocational knowing and pride, wasit about producing something for a specific purpose of worth to humans, or specific

vocational knowing such as knowing every sound the machine makes. These positive accounts are in line with the individual and societal worth of a vocation (Billet, 2011). Furthermore, complex knowing with aspects dependent on the senses are also highlighted (Berner, 1989;

Kilbrink & Asplund, 2020; Perby, 1995). Other preliminary results also reveal that Industrial Technology and its related education are in a sort of crisis with difficulties in attracting appli-cants. In the narratives quite paradoxical accounts appeared; often starting with a slightly neg-ative narration, as exemplified above, and ending up with positive view on the all possibilities for those who choose an industrial career. For example, at the beginning:

One of the vocational teachers says:

They have no plans other than maybe for the coming weekend. The trade representative says:

We hire anyone who can breathe. The representative from the trade union says:

No-one dreams about working in the Industry. Everyone has higher ambitions than that.

A student who was also an immigrant had chosen the Industry Technology Program to secure the future, both in terms of getting residence and for securing himself economically. This stu-dent emphasised that he was interested in becoming an engineer and working in a factoryIn-dustrial Technology was only a single step towards this goal. He did not want to end up with a “dirty” industrial work. However, when he continued, he started to speak about his grandfather in a small village in the home country. His grandfather was a farmer having both animals and land but held a prominent position in the village due to his skills in mechanics, welding, and the like. He could help people with basically anything, and:

He was known as someone who knew everything.

This was yet another example of both dissociation with certain tasks but also revealing pride connected to this kind of knowing. Also, the vocational teachers, the unionist, and the trade representative changed their accounts in similar ways. They ended their narratives talking about advanced vocational knowing, all the possibilities of choosing an industrial career. The salary is high, there are good opportunities for international work, and the working conditions of to-day’s industries are very good compared to the dirty factories of the past. In terms of relating to vocational knowing the narratives revealed, in line with Perby’s (1995) findings, many ex-amples of how it is both very advanced although sometimes appearing easy. Also, the sensuous aspects of the vocational knowing, are brought up when for example the trade unionist after having talked quite negatively is reflecting on her own background and says:

I knew every sound of the machine and could immediately detect if something was wrong.

Many examples of or reasons for vocational pride were spontaneously brought up. Be it about producing equipment for medical purposes or having specific knowing. One of the students said:

You sit in front of the computer, draw in CAD, and produce the piece. It is a process. You are in it from the beginning to the end, until you have the piece in your hand. You are proud when you for example have produced a brake disc and you are so, so proud of the fact that you have done it.

As this student noted, there are in industrial work and education many different tasks, and it is often a matter of processes. Such processes involve knowledgeable humans handling advanced technique with understanding, judgement, and vocational pride.

6 Concluding discussion

Regardless of future opportunities and advanced vocational knowing, Industrial Technology does not seem to attract young people in Sweden. There might be several reasons for the de-clining interest in VET related to Industrial Technology. However, it seems important to acknowledge the ways we talk about vocational knowing in general, and vocational knowing connected to the Industrial Technology. Otherwise, there is a risk that vocational knowing and pride could be overshadowed by negative narrations. The crucial question for further research and analysis is that of how we in society could change our way of thinking and talking about vocational knowledge connected to Industrial Technology, and if such a change could reverse the negative trend.

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Biographical notes

Maria C Johansson is a PhD and lecturer at Malmo University at the department of School Development and Leadership. She has also been guest researcher at Linneaus University. Her research interests are mainly focused on vocational knowledge and validation.

Hamid Asghari holds a PhD in Educational Work at the Department of Educational Studies at Karlstad University in Sweden. His research interests concern vocational education, narrative research, vocational teachers’ and students’ identity construction processes.