Proto-professionalism in the here and now - current developments in pre-vocational education from primary to secondary level

On Thursday, September 14, 2023, 150 teachers, students, network partners and lecturers from the subjects of crafts, technology/computers and economics-technology-budget/social sciences (WTH/S) came together for the 7th Werken-TC-WTH/S symposium at the Faculty of Education at Dresden University of Technology. The theme of the conference was "Proto-professionalism in the here and now - current developments in pre-vocational education from primary to secondary level" and served as a platform for discussing pioneering findings and ideas.

Even before the official opening, participants were able to find out about current developments in the subjects at Saxon universities at the Market of Opportunities. There, further education offers and network partners, including book publishers and manufacturers of teaching materials and learning aids, presented their offers.

The official opening took place at 9:00 a.m. in the Victor-Klemperer-Saal of the Weberbau. Prof. Dr. Rolf Koerber, head of the subjects "Werken" and "WTH/S" at TU Dresden, welcomed the attendees and introduced the opening speech by the head of the State Ministry of Culture, Wilfried Kühner.

The participants then took part in the workshops on offer. They were able to choose from a wide range of sixteen workshops.
After a short break for individual discussions and networking opportunities at the Market of Opportunities, a second phase of workshops was offered this year.

Parallel to this second workshop phase, a university talk was held from 1:30 p.m., which provided space for in-depth discussions and a lively professional exchange between representatives of the subjects at the Saxon universities, other teachers and lecturers as well as a representative of the Saxon State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Prof. Dr. Rolf Koerber, representing the subjects WTH/S and Werk at TU Dresden, the former principal and chair of the curriculum commission Jenny Lenk, Prof. Dr. Kim Lange-Schubert, her colleague Dr. Anett Steinmann and her colleague Maximilian Seidler from the Primary School Didactics of Science and Technology at the University of Leipzig and Prof. Dr. Matthias Schönbeck, Chair of Didactics of Economics, Technology, Household and Social Affairs at Chemnitz University of Technology. The audience was also invited to actively participate in this exchange about technical literacy and pre-vocational skills as well as the present and future of the subjects.

The conclusion of the conference in the small lecture hall was characterized by an open and intensive exchange.

We would like to thank all the helpers, speakers, workshop leaders and visitors who contributed to the success of the conference and look forward to the next conference at Leipzig University.