Exploring the dimensions of social inclusion in vocational education in arts and crafts

Arts and crafts provide an important platform for self-expression, which puts them in a privileged position when addressing social inclusion. Inclusive education in arts and crafts allows individuals from all walks of life to engage in creative pursuits, develop their talents, and contribute to the artistic and cultural fabric of society. At the same time, inclusion is also a very subjective topic, rendering it difficult to map inclusive practices within arts and crafts.

In this report we address this challenge by exploring how arts and crafts progress our contemporary understanding of social inclusion through specific initiatives and best practices inside VET education and the industry. In doing so, we adopt an ecosystem perspective that links the macro context (legal), to the micro-perspective provided by actors such as VET centers and craft/design businesses.

We build on the results of MOSAIC – Mastering job-Oriented Skills in Arts & crafts thanks to Inclusive Centres of vocational excellence – an Erasmus+ project exploring how the arts, crafts and design sectors can respond more accurately to new emerging social needs and changes. The core result is a framework for a systematic mapping of dimensions of inclusion in the arts and crafts VET system.

Structured in 4 Chapters, the report shows that while inclusive legislation needs to be fine-tuned to become actionable, the industry is expected to pay increasing attention to different dimensions of social inclusion and VET centers will have to embed social inclusion as a central part of their governance structure, as well as their educational and operational strategy. As this happens, we will probably witness the emergence of practices that not only address diversity of all kinds, but acknowledge the moral, economic, and social reasons to make diversity, inclusion and equality central to VET centers’ work. Therefore, continuity and consistency should be at the core of implementing coordinated individual and collective efforts in this direction.