19 May 2025

Fresh Impetus for Civic Education in Vocational Education and Training

How can civic education in vocational schools be made engaging and relevant to real life? The newly published brochure "Profession and Film" offers innovative answers.

Der Teil des Covers zeigt eine gezeichnete Konditorin bei der ArbeitThe publi­ca­ti­on emerged from the project “Berufsehre.Lehre.tv”, funded by the DigiFund of the Vienna Chamber of Labour (AK Wien). It demon­stra­tes how effective, cross-disci­pli­na­ry political and media education can begin with the political dimen­si­ons of pro­fes­sio­nal life—using film and video as starting points for classroom learning.

At the heart of the brochure are six hands-on teaching materials, developed col­la­bo­ra­tively by app­ren­ti­ces, voca­tio­nal school teachers, as well as educators and rese­ar­chers in voca­tio­nal education. The goal: to streng­then the pro­fes­sio­nal identity and demo­cra­tic com­pe­ten­ci­es of young people.

The materials are based on an extensive survey involving school lea­der­ship, educators, film experts, and stake­hol­ders from career coun­sel­ling and interest groups. The clear con­clu­si­on: films and online videos are a central part of young people’s everyday media consumption—and they hold great potential for con­tem­po­ra­ry civic education. However, there has been a lack of film content directly related to specific pro­fes­si­ons. This brochure fills that gap.

This publi­ca­ti­on not only marks the con­clu­si­on of a par­ti­ci­pa­to­ry research and deve­lo­p­ment project but also signals a potential new focus on pro­fes­si­on-related civic education within existing insti­tu­ti­ons and programs for political and media literacy. One of the driving forces behind this is the project’s final event: the first Vienna Labour Film Festival 2025.

To the brochure: Download

image by Tina Liebert


Contact: Jörg Markowitsch

Client: AK Digifonds

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