Fabricating the ‘dual system’. Conservative resistance against progressive TVET reforms in West Germany 1969–1982

Over recent years, mainstream literature on TVET system development has presented an idealised picture of institutional evolution. In doing so, the social forces that shape history – namely, the various interest groups – are relegated to the background, as if the outcome of the story were never really in doubt, whilst the contributions of educational actors are especially neglected. This is especially true for the internationally much-admired German dual system. This paper challenges such deterministic narratives by focusing on the so-called ‘reform era’ – a period in West German educational history when the dual system was explicitly contested by progressive institutional actors and academics. Simultaneously, this contestation met with conservative resistance from actors seeking to preserve the status quo. The paper draws on archival evidence from conservative actors, including correspondence, published statements, policy papers and newspaper articles; whilst drawing on scholarly texts to present academic voices. The paper concludes by discussing the empirical and theoretical implications for TVET research and theorisation that can be drawn from this period, during which progressive idealism and conservative resistance openly clashed.