Abstract

TARABINI, Aina  and  JACOVKIS, Judith. WHICH KNOWLEDGE FOR WHOM? SCHOOL TRACKS, KNOWLEDGE DISTRIBUTION AND SCHOOL JUSTICE. e-Curriculum [online]. 2019, vol.17, n.3, pp.880-908.  Epub Oct 28, 2019. ISSN 1809-3876.  https://doi.org/10.23925/1809-3876.2019v17i3p880-908.

The distribution of school knowledge is a key dimension of social justice. One of the main dividing lines between different types of knowledge is based on its more or less theoretical or applied character. In this sense, the division between academic and vocational tracks established in worldwide education systems is crucial to understand the distribution and acquisition of different types of knowledge and their impact in terms of social inequality. In Catalonia, this division is firstly introduced in post-compulsory secondary education, when the educational system is divided in two different tracks. In this context, the objective of the article is to analyse the type of knowledge attributed to Baccalaureate and Vocational Training, from a critical realist approach. Methodologically, the article is based on a discourse analysis of political and school actors relevant in this field. Specifically, it consists of 28 interviews with policy makers and 37 interviews with principals and coordination teams of 8 secondary schools in Barcelona. The results show, on the one hand, a high dichotomy between a type of theoretical knowledge ascribed to Baccalaureate and a type of practical knowledge assigned to Vocational Training, which in turn is based on false attributes about the meaning of both types of knowledge. On the other hand, a rationale for these dichotomies based on a highly hierarchical conception of the functions of both tracks and a naturalization of the abilities and needs of their students.

Keywords : School knowledge; Social justice; Vocational training; Educational transitions; Critical realism.

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