Research project From work force immigration to inclusion
This research project aims to examine how Vocational and Educational Training responded to the structural changes in the labour market and the role it played in the inclusion of immigrants in Sweden from the 1950:s to 2020.
During the last decades Sweden has experienced two major societal changes - a transformation from an industry-based economy and labor market to a knowledge-intensive labor market and at the same time an increased immigration.
The focus of this research project is to analyse and understand the impact of structural changes and immigration and on how Vocational and Educational Training (VET) responded to the interplay of these two challenges from the 1950:s to 2020. We are particularly interested in the role VET played in the inclusion of immigrants in the labour market.
The study is composed of two interrelated parts:
- A historical study examining how the structural changes impacted the organization, content of VET and how VET plays or played ed a role in the inclusion of immigrants from the 1950s to today.
- How immigrants experienced working in the car industry during the differently structural changes and how these changes impacted vocational education in the car industry.
Proeject title: From work force immigration to inclusion – A study of Vocational Education & Training development in relation to society changes and immigration in a historical perspective.
Project description
The focus of this study is to examine the response of VET to the challenges which stem(med) from the structural changes and the role VET played in the inclusion of immigrants in the Swedish labour market and society from the 1950s to today. To analyse and understand the response(s) of VET it is important to examine the factors which shaped the organizing of VET and its contents during the different time periods. In this we are also interested in examining the experience of immigrants working in the industry at different historical times.
Historical study
The historical study will examine how the delivery and provision of VET has changed over time because of structural changes and immigration, and the role VET has played in the inclusion of immigrants to the labour market from the 1950s to today. In this study we will also look at changes in the organization and curriculum of the car mechanic vocational training from the 1950s to 2020. The historical study will not only shed light on how VET respond(ed) to structural changes and inclusion of immigrants in the Swedish work life from the 1950s to today but will also help to contextualize the interview studies and enrich our analysis of the interviews.
Interview studies
The interview studies focus on:
- The experiences and perceptions of immigrants who worked in the car industry from the 1960's to the late 1990s, and
- Immigrants currently working in this sector.
In the interview studies we are interested in their perception of how structural changes and immigration “impacted” the inclusion of immigrants in the labour market and the Swedish society, and how they experienced and managed the impact of the structural and technological changes in the car industry.
For both groups we will also focus on how their prior competence and knowledge was perceived, what challenges they encountered and how they coped with the challenges.
In short, the relation between migration and VET is studied on a structural as well as individual level across the period in order to understand the role the industry and VET played in the inclusion of migrants. A core aspect is consequently, what we can learn from the past to solve the challenges we currently face in the inclusion of immigrants.
Periodization
Our periodization is based on what is defined or is characterized as reflecting a specific and interesting development in Sweden. For instance, the period 1950s to the 1970s is often described as the golden years of the Swedish industrial and economic wonder. It is also a watershed period in relation to the VET system.
In 1971 VET was integrated into upper secondary school (gymnasium). During this time immigration was characterized by labour market immigration. The 1980s was similarly characterized by low unemployment, and economic growth. While an economic crisis, high rate of unemployment, and advent of globalization characterized the 1990s economy and labour market (third revolution) (see Magnusson, 1999). This coincides with decisions of decentralization of education and eventually in the beginning of 1990s the upper secondary education went through a reform expanding VET into three years education qualifying for higher education.
This period of the 1980s and 1990s was also characterised by ebbs and flows of refugee immigration. From 2000 until today we are in the grip of a globalised economy and labour market, intense technical and digital advancements and a labour market that demands different skills compared to the labour market of the 1960s and the 1980s. At the same time there is a substantial increase of asylum seekers and labour immigrants from EU countries. In 2011 VET was again reformed and in this reform the influence of trade unions and industry was strengthened.
Focus on the car industry
We chose to focus on the car industry because it is broad, and it is an area in need of quick adaptations to market conditions. The car industry includes car/lorry workshop (bilverkstäder) of different brands of vehicles such as Toyota, Volvo, etc and privately owned car workshops. In addition, the industry has experienced and is experiencing an accelerated technological development and this no doubt impacts VET in this sector. Moreover, the industry is also subjected to and is characterized by tough competition.
Analysis methods
To analyse the data in this study requires a theoretical approach that pays attention to context and that makes sense of the immigrants’ experiences. Thus, in this study, we will combine curriculum theory, originating in frame factor theory by Dahllöf (1999) and developed by Lundgren (1979) and Goffamn´s frame theory (1974).
Curriculum theory will be used to examine how VET responded to the structural changes in the labour market and immigration and particularly the conditions for inclusion of immigrants this created. Goffman’s frame factor theory will be used to examine experiences of immigrants that work(ed) in the industry from the 1960s to 2020.
Curriculum theory will be used in the historical study of how the structural changes and immigration shaped the way in which VET responded not only to immigration at different times but also to the need of the labour market as consequence of the different structural changes. To capture the changing structural condition(s) structural, immigration, and the response VET in the historical study we will examine documents produced at different levels. These levels are the formulation, transformation and realization arena and frame factors are produced at the formulation level.
Formulation arena
It is at the macro/national level were ideas, arguments for the change are formulated (the formulation arena). Arguments are often presented in documents such as white papers and evaluations of the status of the system. This includes a formulation of what needs to be changed in order to meet past and present needs of the labour market, and how VET can be organized to facilitate the inclusion of immigrants.
Transformation arena
On the second level (the arena of transformation) the investigations, governing bills and parliamentary decisions are medially interpreted and transformed into solutions to be implemented as organization and practice at the micro level. The formulation level is where the arguments about the changes of the system is made, its organization and content. The relationship between the macro and micro is mediated through the transformation arena (Lundgren, 1989).
Realisation arena
The realisation arena is where the changes formulated at the formulation arena and transformation arena are put into operation. It is the ‘free space’ (Berg, 1995) that the school staff has for making its own decisions. Some researchers argue that the coupling between the arena for formulation and the arena for realization is loose (Weick, 1976; Ball, 1994; Tyson, 2017).
Curriculum theory, as noted above, is used to examine factors that are determined outside the school as system but which shapes the everyday running of VET as an institution, for instance, teachers’ competence, space, organization, rules, curricula, and different steering documents (Persson, 2014). In this study we will use Goffman´s frame theory to examine how workers in the car industry frame or framed their participation in the different branches of the industry and the role VET at different times in the inclusion of migrants in the car industry. In other words, in the interview study, we will use Goffman´s frame theory to examine and describe the experience of immigrants in the car industry during the different periods identified above and further explained below in Method. According to Goffman (1974) framework is a ‘schemata of interpretation’ to define situations, experience, meaning, etc.
According to Persson (2014) frame refers to:
- an actor’s knowledge and experience,
- the individual’s social interaction, focusing on shared definition of situations and
- the dynamic, which shapes social interaction in a specific context.
Hence, frame theory has been used to study how individuals perceive, communicate and mentally organize their reality; this can be understood as “underlying structures of belief, perception, and appreciation” (Martin & Schön, 1996, p. 23). Framing is, hence, about how individuals define a common situation that they share(d). That is, what it meant to learn and to work in the car industry at different times. However, even if individuals share a common situation, they can define this differently. This analytical focus is in line with our interest to delineate the knowledge and experience of immigrants who worked in the car industry from the 1960´s to 2020.
Project members
Project managers
Lazaro Moreno Herrera
Professor
Members
Åsa Broberg
Senior lecturer/director of studies for the doctoral program
Ali Osman
Senior lecturer
