Emancipatory and Instrumental Perspectives inErasmus+ Vocational Education and TrainingMobility: An Analysis of the Programme Guide

José Carlos Bronze; Carlinda Leite; Angélica Monteiro

doi:10.14201/fde.23209

Authors

José Carlos Bronze Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1165-4563
Carlinda Leite Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9960-2519
Angélica Monteiro Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1369-3462

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14201/fde.23209

Keywords:

Vocational Education and Training, Erasmus+ mobility, emancipatory education, soft skills, labour market

Abstract

The progressive influence of the Erasmus+ Programme (E+) can be gauged from increased available funds and demands broadly and systematically exceeding availability. Its popularity translates directly into increased participation in its actions, including international mobility in vocational education and training (VET). To know how the Programme is conveyed to the VET sector, particularly concerning international mobility, a study of the Programme Guide was carried out to uncover elements aggregated to either emancipatory or instrumental perspectives that may impact the final beneficiaries. Regarding the methods, a document analysis of the 2014 and 2022 Erasmus+ Programme Guides was carried out, focusing on identifying the emancipatory perspective within concepts related to ‘soft skills & digital literacy,’ ‘cooperation & active citizenship,’ and ‘EU citizenship & social inclusion.’ The instrumental perspective was examined by looking for references related to ‘market,’ ‘management,’ and ‘performativity’ as drivers of the labour market's demands. The content analysis’s results point to concepts associated with an emancipatory perspective gaining ground compared to those feeding the instrumental perspective. While both perspectives have grown in importance over the years, some bypass concepts emerge, bridging them and generating or emphasising hybridism. This hybridism incorporates tensions and amenities between a socioemotional orientation, resorting to social inclusion, and the strength of prescriptive demands based on the labour market’s needs. Those results are worth further research through empirical studies focused on E+ enactment on VET.

Author Biographies

José Carlos Bronze, Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal

José Carlos Bronze is a research fellow of the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, contract no. 2021.06244.BD, at CIIE - Centre for Research and Intervention in Education of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP), Portugal, where he attends the Doctoral Programme in Education Sciences. He completed a degree in Sociology and a master's specialisation course in Power and Political Systems at the University of Évora, Portugal. He is a researcher in education sciences, a manager and evaluator of European projects of education and training. His professional career has developed in schools, Non-Governmental Organisations, consultancy companies, and higher education institutions. He has coordinated transnational projects and conducted evaluations in education projects in more than 30 countries in Europe, Africa and South America. His research interests are social inclusion, socio-emotional skills, digital literacy, vocational education and training, European Union education policies and programmes, and human rights.
Carlinda Leite, Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal

Carlinda Leite is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Porto, Portugal, and an Invited Full Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences (FPCEUP), and serves as President of the Research Ethics Committee. She is a senior researcher at CIIE - Centre for Educational Research and Intervention, where she coordinates the research community of practice CAFTe - Curriculum, Assessment, Training and Technologies in Education. She was Head of FPCEUP from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2010, and Head of the Department of Education from 2005 to 2010. From 2003-2010, she was the Director of the Doctoral Programme in Education Sciences at U.Porto. She served in the Portuguese Education Sciences Society as Vice-President (1999-2012), and in 1999 was appointed Vice-President of the Scientific-Pedagogical Council of Continuing Education (1999-2012). Her main research focuses are: Education and curriculum policies; Teacher training; Evaluation of institutions, courses, projects and learning outcomes; Curriculum and modes of pedagogical work in higher education; Education and cultural diversity. She has coordinated several projects and is the author of numerous articles published in international and national journals.
Angélica Monteiro, Centre for Research and Intervention in Education, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, s/n, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal

Angélica Monteiro holds a Ph.D. in Education Sciences and a Master’s in Multimedia Education from the University of Porto. She is an Auxiliary Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP) and a researcher at the Faculty’s Centre for Research and Intervention in Education (CIIE/FPCEUP). Her research interests include curriculum, evaluation, education science, higher education, teachers’ training, and digital technology in education, with a particular focus on digital inclusion of people in a vulnerable situation, on which she has published books, book chapters and articles in indexed journals.