A dynamic Concept of Culture to Facilitate the Knowledge Transfer

Transcription

1 A dynamic Concept of Culture to Facilitate the Knowledge Transfer FAKULTÄT I Institut für Berufliche Bildung und Arbeitslehre TU-Berlin Sekr. FR 4-4 Franklinstr , D Berlin Dr. Stefan Wolf Diplom Berufspädagoge, Studienassessor, Mechanikermeister Coordinator of the International Knowledge Network for Sustainable Development - IKN-Network The Case Study Qualification Processes in Rural Areas UNIVERSIDAD th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON HIGHER EDUCATION

2 Oberstufenzentrum Bautechnik I Berufsschule im Bereich der Bautechnik Berufsfachschule für Bauhandwerker Fachoberschule und Berufliches Gymnasium Dr. Stefan Wolf Diplom Berufspädagoge, Studienassessor, Mechanikermeister Short presentation of my person FAKULTÄT I Institut für Berufliche Bildung und Arbeitslehre TU-Berlin Sekr. FR 4-4 Teacher in Berlin Vocational School in the construction field The Knobelsdorff-Schule -, it is a diverse school with several parts going from preparation classes to pre-university classrooms, in part time occupation The other part time work as a lecturer in teachers training and as a researcher at the Technische Universität Berlin at the Institute for Vocational Education and Work Studies. My main research focuses are VET for sustainable development, culture and VET and international comparative education. Franklinstr , D Berlin

3 Content Introduction The Dynamic Understanding of Culture Factors of Influence of Qualification Projects Discussion of the Results Conclusions

4 Introduction Dichotomy of Modernity and Tradition in Development Policy. Culture is very often seen as a constraint to progress and close connected to tradition. Very often Culture is abused as a means to realize particular political interests. A dynamic concept of culture is needed to improve the knowledge transfer processes in different societal and cultural contexts. To improve the life ambience of rural people we need to know how they do their culture to come to an appropriate teaching and training similar as to facilitate the acquisition of technical innovations.

5 The way to a dynamic concept of culture To improve the knowledge transfer as it is mentioned in the sheet before it we discuss in the IKN-Network the role of culture and the adequate understanding of culture for development processes neglecting the often used mainstream way in development policy. In my research for my PhD-thesis I ve analysed a large number of development policy studies concerning the role of culture. From a German perspective there is no concise concept of culture to use in the development processes neither an adequate concept to use culture in the processes for improving poor people s life. Support by the grounded theory I developed in my PhD research an adequate concept of culture.

6 A Dynamic Concept of Culture

7 Different levels of meaning of culture in societal processes Culture in societal processes Stability and Change Facilitation of Compromise and Communication Integration and Distinction in the Society Symbolic Order in the field of negotiation Transfer of Societal Information to the next Generation Contested Social Fields of Negotiation Means in the Struggle for Resources in the Society Balance of Power in the fields of negotiation To guarantee the social subjects place in contested social fields of negotiation and to serve its ability herein cultural expression is needed and often invented by actors. To serve the societal cohesion and to the change and stability of a society or community culture is an important means. To facilitate inner-societal compromises and the communications on different levels the understanding based on culture is needed.

8 The new approach of culture as a toolkit to investigate educational processes Factors of influence acted upon the social actors Factors of influence acted upon the social actors Factors of influence acted upon the field of negotiation Factors of influence acted upon the field of negotiation

9 The Factors of Influence

10 The Factors of Influence A detailed view on the studies gives specific factors of influence of qualification projects acted mainly upon primary recipients

11 The Factors of Influence A detailed view on the studies gives specific factors of influence of qualification projects acted mainly upon recipients social and work space

12 Discussion of the results We can need the approach to investigate the situation in rural areas to implement renewable energy supplies on community level. We have the possibilities to integrate the energy supplies with appropriate technical qualification and environmental education. With the approach we can develop a communicative research design by interviews and observations. We are better able to develop an appropriate qualification measurements to improve the people s life situation and their capabilities to maintain and to repair the technical equipment.

13 Discussion of the results The approach gives the chance to order the jumble of factors influencing educational processes under a cultural perspective. We have now a toolkit to research factors of influence which impact educational projects in uncommon cultural contexts. We need larger research to concrete the links between the cultural factors of influence and the training measurements. But we need to do it in a reflective manner and we need also a research behaviour of a social scientist working in the field under the paradigm of interpretative research. A mixture of methods to research and a cross-disciplinary project approach is needed. We need more empirical research to prove the so far theoretical developed approach and to enlarge the potential of this dynamic concept of culture.

14 Conclusions The operationalization of culture for empirical research remains difficult. The dynamic concept of culture to investigate education and training in qualification projects introduced here has potential to shed light on educational processes from a cultural perspective. Further research is necessary in order to elucidate what the additional factors of influence from the cultural and material world would look like and which of these factors would play what a role in the educational process. As a new research stream: how we can ameliorate our didactics and teaching methods regarding the results of the dynamic concept of culture used as a heuristic toolkit. Need of further theoretical grounding to come to an appropriate tool to illuminate teaching and learning processes from a cultural perspective in schools or in trainings. The cultural model outlined in this paper should be further developed and empirically examined in order to help expand this research focus in the field of education. In the development policy the mentioned heuristic toolkit needs use and evaluation in field studies and in integrated qualification projects to improve the suitability for development projects.

15 Thanks for your attention