Vocational Bildung in action : A case study of the vocational education biography of master craftsman Wolfgang B

Abstract: This study looks at issues of Bildung and vocational education from a biographical perspective. These issues are conceptualized in terms of Bildung in action, developed in relation to Schön’s concept reflection in action; Bildung through making as a way of thinking about processes of Bildung connected to crafts; and Bildung in vocational contexts, ie. contexts of vocational education and work. The concepts are enriched through an extensive auto/biographical case study of master craftsman Wolfgang B.’s educational biography focusing on stories of Bildung where processes and actions are described as well as the curricular structure of his training. Some of these stories and aspects of the case have then been analyzed in two articles, one dealing with questions of aesthetic Bildung in vocational education using Schiller as conceptual lens and one dealing with educating for vocational excellence using Aristotle’s concepts techne and phronesis to understand the narratives analyzed. The results are an increased and differentiated understanding of Bildung in vocational contexts, especially as related to the coexistence of skill training with education for Bildung and the unique perspectives that auto/biographical studies of retired or semi-retired craftspeople bring to the field of research connecting biography, Bildung in action and vocational education.