Emancipatory or economistic? Vocational education in the West after Blankertz

This chapter reviews theoretical and historical explanations for the erasure of Blankertz’s ‘critical education science’ discussed in the previous chapter. We examine the tensions between its aspirations to emancipation and the social realities of vocational education and work; and then explain the post-war context of these debates: the advance of neoliberalism in the Anglosphere and a later retrenchment of vocational education and training (VET) in Europe, including a retreat from vocational Bildung in Germany. We then compare analyses of these events, including the unitarist conceptualisations of skill formation that have since come to dominate the field and a more critical explanation of the contrasting interests of VET actors, comparing the roles of employer and state actors to the potential roles of currently marginalised democratic actors. In our conclusion, we explore whether greater attention to this potential can better address societal concerns whilst developing emancipatory practice within vocational routes.