From triangle transfer to collaborative transaction in VET

The symposium explores how addressing complex challenges, such as the shortage of skilled labor, high dropout rates, and the inclusion of marginalized groups, requires interorganizational collaboration between research institutions, vocational education, and public/private organizations. Building on the concept of the "knowledge triangle" (KT) (European Council, 2009), this symposium questions the dominant epistemology of possession (Cook & Brown, 1999), where research informs practice through linear knowledge transfer and spill-over (Maximilian et al., 2020; Soriano & Mulatero, 2010). In this model, the triangle’s sides are treated as separate entities, leaving knowledge translation to the involved actors (Sjoer et al., 2013).

Instead of such triangle transfer, we propose an epistemology of collaborative transactions, emphasizing co-creation of knowledge and shared practices across research, education, and organizational practice (Rohwedder, Møller & Kordovsky, 2024; Wegener & Thomassen, 2024). This approach moves beyond siloed solutions, focusing on joint problem identification, solution development and development of shared language
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The symposium illuminates the black box of KT collaboration (Sjoer et al., 2013) by showcasing practical examples. It asks: What emerges when relations between research, education, and public/private organizations are treated as shared knowledge and learning processes?

Three projects explore collaborative transactions between research, education and public organizations (PI, P2) and between education and public organizations (P3 ).

P1/RQ: Which (im)possibilities appear when researcher-practitioner collaborations are organized didactically to foster equal knowledge and learning spaces? (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner’s (2020) concept of social learning spaces)

P2/RQ: How can collaborative explorations of inter-organizational narratives-about-knowledge enable embedded forms of dialogue across the field of VET in social- and health care? (Bager & Lundholdt’s (2021) approach on organizational storymaking)

P3/RQ: What supports student’s perception of meaning in transition between school-based training and education and workplace-based training? The concept of meaning is inspired by Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017).