Socio-ecological theory and apprenticeship systems

Apprenticeship as a paradigm may be regarded as a system consisting of inter-related stakeholders in a relatively complex but collaborative relationship. Societal phenomena such as this are suitable for analysis through the application of the theory of socio-ecology. While such studies have been undertaken to an extent in the past, the analyzes conducted have been limited in terms of socio-ecological strata used. Furthermore, such studies have generally analyzed apprenticeship within jurisdictions where training is extensive with few social partners involved. Conversely, this study analyzes apprenticeship in the context of the standardized Irish craft model where the number of key stakeholders involved is more expansive. Consequently, these stakeholders may be represented by a more thorough socio-ecological analysis utilizing levels including micro, meso, exo and macro systems as described by Bronfenbrenner in 1994.