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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 265

Part of Session 153: Working in the City (Other abstracts in this session)

Gaining social legitimacy in and across contexts: Apprenticeship in a « dual » training system

Authors: Filliettaz, Laurent; Losa, Stefano
Submitted by: Losa, Stefano, Andrea (University of Geneva, Switzerland)

This talk advances a new perspective for approaching the role of language and discourse in vocational education and training (VET), a perspective that sees these ingredients not as peripheral components of the training curriculum, but rather as central mediating tools for vocational learning. According to this perspective, apprentices are not only exposed to vocational knowledge in the range of contexts in which training takes places. They also encounter specific discourse practices and face numerous and often implicit or invisible expectations regarding the ways these discourses may be enacted and conducted. It is by engaging with these discourse practices that apprentices gain access to knowledge, develop practical skills and may endorse legitimate social positions within the multiple communities they belong to during their training. These language and communication skills are neither transparent nor self-evident. Like other components of vocational training, they have to be seen and most importantly learnt. Some apprentices are very successful in identifying and acquiring the specific discursive demands underlying the range of practices included their training programme. Some others are not and may encounter rather challenging experiences in their journey to a VET qualification.

In a research programme recently conducted at the University of Geneva,these various ideas have been elaborated and discourse analytic methods have been implemented to address vocational education issues. Analysing discourse and verbal interaction among apprentices, trainers and workers, it is proposed, can contribute to a better understanding of the complex learning processes associated with initial vocational training and illuminate the multiple challenges faced by apprentices when accomplishing the transition from school to work.

In this talk, we focus on the relationship between trainers and apprentices within dedicated training centres and workplaces and wish to highlight how discursive and interactional processes can lead participants to establish legitimate, recognized and valued social positions within specific communities of practice. Following an interactional perspective on social recognition and impression management, we address the following range of questions. How do apprentices negotiate their participation to communities of practice? How do they actively contribute to their legitimacy in face-to-face interaction? What kinds of semiotic resources do they use for doing so? Reciprocally, we are also interested in investigating the perspective of trainers and experienced workers. How do trainers shape interactional participatory practices for apprentices? What sorts of resources are afforded to them and how may these specific resources support or hinder social recognition for apprentices?

A contrasted data analysis based on audio-video recordings recently collected in the Geneva area shows how various apprentices may respond differently to the specific requirements set towards communicative tasks depending on their capacity to adapt to the social expectations underlying the wide range of training practices in which they engage during their training period.