Hartley, S (2018) Craft Education in the United Kingdom and the United States: a cross-cultural examination of ideals, approaches and solutions. PhD thesis, University of York, UK.
Abstract
At the conclusion of the Second World War both the United Kingdom and the United States experienced drastic changes in their building industries. As the construction industry progressed, the training systems for construction workers evolved to meet this new demand. This thesis argues that these changes have caused the UK and the US to face a perceived crisis in the training and supply of traditional craft workers. In both societies, different approaches have been taken to address these concerns, based on the evolving ethos of conservation theory in their respective cultures and their educational frameworks. The approaches taken can be seen as reflecting the evolution of conservation theory and practice in each society, which is often expressed through variations in perception of value, age, and methodology, as well as distinct differences in terminology. This thesis studies the progression of heritage craft training through the examination of historical evidence juxtaposed against ethnographic surveys of three generations of craft practitioners along with current educational providers. Using this evidence, this thesis examines the strengths and shortcomings of current heritage craft educational offerings in both networks through the opinions of both practitioners and educational providers using Actor-Network Theory methodology. It is from the triangulation of historical evidence, craft practitioner opinions, and educational provider experiences that this research proposes pathways to improve the educational offerings in both networks. This study argues that contrary to popular belief, the crisis in heritage craft training may be misdiagnosed, but significant improvements need to be made by both countries to enhance the visibility and delivery of the existing training opportunities. This thesis aims to inform our understanding of the progression of this under-studied sphere of the conservation industry in order to enrich future craft training practices.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | actor-network theory; conservation; education; heritage; improvement; training; variations; construction worker |
| Index terms: | variation, actor-network theory, training practice, United States, construction worker, United Kingdom, society, conservation, building industry, construction industry, triangulation, evolution, evidence, face, methodology, war, survey, practitioner |
| Subjects: | contractual condition, conflict and crisis studies, Geography, research methods, environmental science, evaluation and assessment methods, psychology, data collection methods, learning methods, environmental policy, practitioner, industry analysis, communities and social development, research design and methodology, theoretical framing |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Geographical Context, Education, Organizational Design, Contract Administration, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here