Expanding sustainability thinking in vocational education inarts and crafts

Arts and crafts have become the forerunners of the EU’s sustainable development strategy through their strong potential of social and cultural innovation. However, their potential has remained to date largely untapped. The underlying research report contributes to bridging this gap by exploring how vocational educational and connected practices enable us to expand our thinking about environmental sustainability in arts and crafts.

In doing so, the report draws on the research conducted in the frame of MOSAIC – Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & crafts thanks to Inclusive Centres of vocational excellence – an Erasmus+ project that explores how arts and crafts can respond more accurately to new emerging needs and societal changes.

The research is constructed using a practice-led lens that links the macro context (legal), to the micro-perspective provided by actors such as VET centers and craft/design businesses, to grasp the way in which best practices emerge.

One of the main outputs of this research is a framework that provides an organised manner of understanding best practices inside VET education that helps us to think about the future of eco-responsible education and skill creation. Structured in 4 chapters, the report shows that both green laws and innovative best practices inside the industry will continue to shape new visions around sustainability in arts and crafts education. The report also identifies several directions in which green practices are expected to evolve: a better integration of the environmental curriculum, industry-training adapted to real work needs, green skills development beyond materialistic determinism, hands-on green training, new forms of recognitions and certifications, flexible and tailored lifelong learning opportunities, the integration of new technologies into environmental training and green innovations driven by multi- and transdisciplinary collaborations.

Report findings draw attention to how ideas of responsible design, eco-innovation and research interventions are sustaining a long-term vision of sustainability, which impacts practitioners, educators and policymakers alike.