Domestic education and technology – historical development of women´s (T)VET

• The history of VET in the Nordic countries tends to either focus on education for male students only, or on the professional higher education for women such as nurses. Even in the 21st century, the 1970s are mentioned as the time when women entered the labor market as a consequence of societal industries (kindergartens, hospitals). The aim for this paper is to complement the existing picture of VET as a purely male form for education, related to agriculture, industry/technology, craft and trading. A further aim is to describe VET for women that was closely related to a labor market for women that developed in the early 20th century. The concept of TVET suggests an even closer association to male vocational education as T stands for technical. In parallel to VET for male student, women’s VET developed in the fields household, caring, textile work and trading. In these areas technical development was a central but not an obvious part of women´s vocational education. For instance, new technical inventions like kitchen equipment for commercial kitchen and food industry, as well as for private households required transformation of knowledge. Historically, women’s work in these areas contributed significantly to the production and economic development in the society, but also to women's access to participation in the public. However, while the history of VET and TVET for male students has received extensive attention in research within various disciplines, VET for female students is scarcely researched and the technical aspects even more so. In this paper we explore the Swedish umbrella concept domestic education as a point of departure for a discussion of the multiple vocations that this concept represented and thereby also hid. We focus on how the different vocational educations within this area contributed to qualifying women for a labor market in transition: through expansion, differentiation and specialization, intertwined with technical development. This is in line with how cultural historical activity theory emphasizes that changes in tools and rules contribute to changing societal activities over time. This development shows how female competence contributed to societal development during the 20th century. We also argue that education for women in the 1970s was a consequence of changed relations between individuals, families and society that can be identified through analyzing the VET for women in the early 20th century.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Keyword

VET history

Technology and VET for women

Cultural historical activity theory

VET and modernity

pedagogik

Education

VET history

Technology and VET for women

Cultural historical activity theory

VET and modernity

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)