Abstract
While there are merits in a ‘market’ approach to analyse VET, such a paradigm shift should not be implemented in a way that ignores some important lessons of a ‘systems’ approach. Both approaches are basically one-sided in their interpretation of human (inter)action. The ‘systems’ approach tends to overrate stability in that it stresses the fact that human beings in various societies show a remarkable preference for doing many things in a basically similar way to their ancestors. The social discipline of cultural anthropology provides a vast body of literature that documents this fact, and contains many striking examples. The ‘market’ approach tends to overrate change in that it basically conceives of human beings äs basing all of their action on an inherently rational choice that best serves their personal interests. The discipline of economics provides a vast body of literature that has been quite successful in explaining important facts this way. Both perspectives are thus important. Each on their own, however, entails a considerable risk of near-sightedness in the explanation of human behaviour and its aggregate effects.
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van Lieshout, H. (1999). Enhancing the Operation of Markets for Vocational Education and Training. In: van Wieringen, F., Attwell, G. (eds) Vocational and Adult Education in Europe. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9269-7_4
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