RSQ

This project investigates the epistemological foundations and power dynamics that comprise the vocational ecology of the Swiss construction sector. It seeks to uncover how formal, informal, and societal knowledge intersect—and often conflict—in shaping current building site and pedagogical practices, by tracing how we acquire, justify, and understand what we know.

The three main vectors that emerge by looking at Swiss vocational ecologies are: (a) how legislation is formed/changed (policymaking); (b) how curriculum development and teaching units work/update (pedagogy); (c) how vocational training is conducted/recrafted on-site (tacit knowledge). All three aspects are closely linked due to the specific nature of the Swiss education system, which especially in its vocational part heavily relies on professional associations and the private sector to identify challenges and future competencies.

Broadly formulated, the project aims to investigate the question: “How do formal (school-based), informal (workplace-based), and societal knowledge sources interact in the vocational training of building professionals in Switzerland?” by examining the actor network surrounding the Master Plan 2030, published by the Schweizer Baumeisterverband.