Social Representation of Non-Academic Work in Mexico in the Light of Cultural Artefacts

Abstract

Context: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has attracted increasing interest in recent years due to its potential to address productivity and equity challenges, such as better employment prospects, as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the potential of such programmes, the enrolment rate in vocational training at upper secondary level in Mexico is 38.2%, i.e. below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 45.7%. This raises the question of possible reasons for the low enrolment rate. Approach: Based on the assumption that attitudes towards non-academic work are culturally anchored in Mexican society, which also shapes the educational and career aspirations of younger generations, the project named Cultural Practice of Non-academic Work in Mexico (KuPraMex), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), investigates social representations of non-academic work in Mexico. This is done through the analysis of artefacts such as films, murals, etc., as these are part of the tangible culture of a society. As materialised products of human activities or cultural practices, artefacts can be understood as objectifications of social relations and conditions. Therefore, in this context, it is assumed that through the analysis of cultural artefacts, a deeper understanding of how non-academic work is thought, felt, and valued in Mexican society will emerge.Findings: It has been found that the topic on non-academic work is often associated with informality. Moreover, the representations and narratives in cultural artefacts often show that non-academic work, apart from office work, is physically challenging but cognitively undemanding. In terms of access to a company, social networks seem to have enormous relevance. Hierarchies seem rigid and opportunities for promotion limited. However, narratives with more positive attributions regarding non-academic work can also be identified, which state that young people experience a habitus transformation through work. Conclusion: Nevertheless, non-academic work in Mexico seems to lack prestige, which may affect young people's educational and career aspirations and choices. This could mean that those who can afford it prefer to pursue a career in tertiary education rather than opt for a TVET programme. At the macro level, the mentioned lack of prestige could hamper attempts to offer such programmes.

Social representation of nonacademic work from the perspective of company gatekeepers in the Mexican tourism sector

“…The concept of social representations, introduced into social psychology by Moscovici in the early 1960s, is considered particularly valuable in this article, as it has the function of transforming the unknown into the known, which is also referred to as 'anchoring' (Araya Umaña, 2002;Moscovici, 1988). Furthermore, the concept of social representations focuses on the elementary form of social knowledge that enables coping with everyday and work-related situations (Araya Umaña, 2002;Clement et al, 2021;Schützeichel, 2007):…”

“…Although company gatekeepers make their access decisions, such as the promotion of employees to higher hierarchical positions, on the basis of organizational transition policies, the decision‐making processes—it is assumed—are decisively shaped by collectively anchored ‘social representations’ (Moscovici, 1988). These can manifest themselves, on the one hand, in cultural artefacts such as movies, memes and so on (Clement et al, 2021), and on the other hand, in narratives. In this article, we focus on the narratives of company gatekeepers in the tourism sector.…”

“…The concept of social representations, introduced into social psychology by Moscovici in the early 1960s, is considered particularly valuable in this article, as it has the function of transforming the unknown into the known, which is also referred to as ‘anchoring’ (Araya Umaña, 2002; Moscovici, 1988). Furthermore, the concept of social representations focuses on the elementary form of social knowledge that enables coping with everyday and work‐related situations (Araya Umaña, 2002; Clement et al, 2021; Schützeichel, 2007):

Social representations […] concern the contents of everyday thinking and the stock of ideas that gives coherence to our religious beliefs, political ideas and the connections we create as spontaneously as we breathe. They make it possible for us to classify persons and objects, to compare and explain behaviours and to objectify them as parts of our social setting.

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“…Accordingly, social representations to some extent ‘have a life of their own’ (Moscovici & Duveen, 2001). However, events and experiences that continuously deviate from the core, as well as profound influences, can lead to a restructuring of the core (Abric, 1993; Clement et al, 2021).…”

“…Cultural artefacts, such as murals, movies and so on, constitute a part of the tangible culture and are analysed in relation to the representations of nonacademic work. The analysis served to reconstruct the meaning of nonacademic work based on the cultural artefacts (Clement et al, 2021). These findings shaped the development of the guiding questions of the survey instrument for the semi‐structured interviews with the company gatekeepers.…”