Meyne, Lisa; Sieme , Ch is ine
A icle
Mapping social capi al in oca ional educa ion and
aining: A mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic social ne wo k
analysis in a Eu opean inno a ion p ojec
In e na ional Jou nal o Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (IJRVET)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Eu opean Resea ch Ne wo k in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (VETNET), Eu opean Educa ional
Resea ch Associa ion
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Meyne, Lisa; Sieme , Ch is ine (2025) : Mapping social capi al in oca ional
educa ion and aining: A mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic social ne wo k analysis in a Eu opean
inno a ion p ojec , In e na ional Jou nal o Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (IJRVET),
ISSN 2197-8646, Eu opean Resea ch Ne wo k in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (VETNET),
Eu opean Educa ional Resea ch Associa ion, B emen, Vol. 12, Iss. 3, pp. 433-474,
h ps://doi.o g/10.13152/IJRVET.12.3.6
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In e na ional Jou nal o Resea ch in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining (IJRVET)
2025, Vol. 12, Issue 3, 433–474
h ps://doi.o g/10.13152/IJRVET.12.3.6
ISSN: 2197-8646
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Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional
Educa ion and T aining: A Mul i-Pe spec i e
Egocen ic Social Ne wo k Analysis in
a Eu opean Inno a ion P ojec
Lisa Meyne*, Ch is ine Sieme
Uni e si y o B emen, Ins i u e Technology and Educa ion (ITB), Am Fall u m 1,
28359 B emen, Ge many
Recei ed: 28 Janua y 2025, Accep ed: 23 May 2025
Abs ac
Con ex : The impo ance o he in ol ed s akeholde s and hei ne wo ks in oca ional edu-
ca ion and aining (VET) ocussing on in e na ional ans e and coope a ion is highligh-
ed in a ious empi ical s udies. A sys ema ic empi ical su ey o hese by means o social
ne wo k analysis, howe e , has ha dly been applied o da e. This a icle is conce ned wi h he
de elopmen o social capi al in he cou se o ne wo k o ma ion and i s sus ainabili y. The
objec o in es iga ion is he unded Eu opean VET inno a ion p ojec AI Pionee s wi hin
he E asmus+ p og am o he Eu opean Union. The main objec i e o he p ojec is o es-
ablish and expand an in e na ional ne wo k in he con ex o VET in o de o suppo he
exchange o expe ise on he use o a i icial in elligence (AI) in educa ion.
App oach: To answe he esea ch ques ions, he i s s ep was o combine heo e ical ap-
p oaches om a social ne wo k pe spec i e om psychology in ela ion o he analysis o
in e pe sonal us , sociology ega ding he social capi al app oach and business adminis-
a ion by add essing he oles o ac o s in inno a ion p ocesses. Among o he s, he social
ne wo k pe spec i e in his s udy is based on he wo k o G ano e e as well as Ma sden
and Campbell. Fo he da a collec ion, a ully s uc u ed in e iew ques ionnai e and a semi-
s uc u ed in e iew guideline we e de eloped based on he heo e ical amewo k o he
*Co esponding au ho : lmeyne@uni-b emen.de
434 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
s udy. In he second s ep, a mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic ne wo k analysis was ca ied ou :
Da a on a o al o N = 10 egocen ic ne wo ks we e collec ed om he unded pa ne s in
he AI Pionee s p ojec o gain an o e all pic u e o he combined social capi al and ne wo k
s uc u es. Fo he isualisa ion o he ne wo k da a, he ype o s uc u ed and s anda dised
ne wo k maps was used.
Findings: Rega ding he es ablishmen o social capi al in he analysed inno a ion p ojec
AI Pionee s, i can be emphasised ha a o al o 74 ela ionships ha e been eco ded in he
10 egocen ic ne wo ks combined. In line wi h he p ojec objec i es, he educa ion sec o
is add essed by he majo i y o he analysed ela ionships (n = 54), wi h ( echnical) oca-
ional schools making up a subs an ial pa o hese. Focussing on he sus ainabili y o he
su eyed ne wo k s uc u es: Mos o he analysed ela ionships al eady exis ed be o e he
p ojec s a and we e consolida ed du ing i (n = 57), while new ones we e also es ablished
(n = 17). In addi ion, he con inuous de elopmen o mu ual us and he need o equal
coope a ion is emphasised: A ela i ely high le el o mu ual us can be eco ded o e all in
he analysed egocen ic ne wo ks (n = 55), while a low mu ual us is p esen in 19 ela ion-
ships which is desc ibed due o e.g. asymme ical powe ela ions o a lack o commi men .
The esul s show ha he ela ionships analysed p ima ily con ibu e hei esou ces in he
o m o expe ise and hei ne wo king knowledge o he egocen ic ne wo ks. Fu he mo e,
a high le el o in e es and willingness o suppo he AI Pionee s p ojec can be cap u ed,
pa icula ly due o he no el y o he opic and he applica ion o AI in VET.
Conclusions: The s udy makes a signi ican con ibu ion o VET esea ch and i s me ho-
dological se by using social ne wo k analysis wi h a combina ion o quali a i e app oaches
o analysing egocen ic ne wo ks om mul iple pe spec i es. The impo ance o alloca ing
esou ces o he c ea ion o social capi al ega ding coope a ion, ne wo k building and he
sus ainable main enance o es ablished s uc u es can be emphasised. In his espec he
bene i s o a ne wo k-based app oach can be highligh ed in he con ex o he E asmus+
p og am and he pa ne ships o inno a ion on o wa d-looking opics. In addi ion, he de-
elopmen o he wo s uc u ed su ey ins umen s in his s udy can be emphasised, which
can be u he de eloped on he basis o u u e esea ch. Fu he quan i a i e ne wo k ana-
lyses would be aluable o VET esea ch, especially agains he backg ound o inno a ion
d i e s and ne wo k o ma ion, such as ma ke and end- ela ed d i e s due o demands
and de elopmen s in he ield o AI in educa ion.
Keywo ds: Social Ne wo k Analysis, Egocen ic Mul i-Pe spec i e, Social Capi al, E asmus+
Inno a ion P ojec , A i icial In elligence, Voca ional Educa ion and T aining, VET
435
Meyne, Sieme
1 In oduc ion
Educa ional coope a ion has been unded and p omo ed by he Eu opean Union o many
yea s unde he E asmus+ p og am wi h inno a ion1 as he cen al elemen : The e o e, he
aim o unding is on suppo ing inno a i e p ojec s wi h ega d o a ious p io i ies, so ha ,
among o he a eas, coope a ion be ween educa ional o ganisa ions in Eu ope is p omo ed
unde he Pa ne ships o Inno a ion in o de o suppo mode nisa ion and no el y on
u u e-o ien ed opics such as digi alisa ion and he use o a i icial in elligence (AI) in edu-
ca ion and aining (Eu opean Commission, 2022, 2024). Funding is p ima ily p o ided in
his ega d o p ojec s ha a e made up o a ansna ional conso ium and ocus on "mu-
ual lea ning on o wa d-looking issues amongs key s akeholde s and empowe ing hem
o de elop inno a i e solu ions and p omo e he ans e o hose solu ions in new se ings"
(Eu opean Commission, 2022, p. 277). In addi ion, o he eligible ac i i ies a e ou lined, in-
cluding 'mapping wo k' and ' ansna ional e en s o ne wo king ac i i ies' unde he p io i-
ies o he so-called o wa d-looking p ojec s (Eu opean Commission, 2022). The e o e, he
E asmus+ p og am ocuses di ec ly on building sus ainable in e na ional ne wo ks as a con-
s an implici ea u e (Eu opean Commission, 2022, 2024), wi h some inno a ion p ojec s
e en explici ly se ing in e na ional ne wo king as one o hei co e objec i es. Ne wo king
ac i i ies like his ex end beyond na ional bo de s. A he same ime, he aspec o ne wo -
king is inc easingly becoming a ocus o he use o esou ces in o de o mee he g owing
challenges and change p ocesses in he educa ion sec o (G ube e al., 2018). As a esou ce
wi hin he ne wo ks, he esul ing social capi al (e.g., us ) in pa icula can be an indica o
o sus ainabili y (Gessle & Sieme , 2020). The e o e, he p omo ion o ne wo k o ma ion
and hus social capi al, as di ec ly add essed by he Eu opean unding p og am, should be
placed in he ocus o esea ch in e es as well as he ou pu o such unding e o s add essing
ne wo king and i s sus ainabili y in in e na ional con ex s.
Fu he mo e, in oca ional educa ion and aining (VET), he connec ion be ween wo k,
echnology and educa ion con inues o be unde s ood as a dynamic in e dependence ha
mus be add essed in a changing wo ld o wo k (McG a h e al., 2019). The changes esul ing
om de elopmen s in he ield o AI should be pa icula ly emphasised in his in e depen-
dence, as hey esul in bo h undamen al change p ocesses in socie y and a ious po en ials
o eache s, aine s and lea ne s in VET (e.g., o iden i y indi idual lea ning needs; De
Wi , 2024; Roppe z, 2021). As he deba e su ounding he opic o AI has gained momen-
um in ecen yea s, he unding and implemen a ion o AI inno a ion p ojec s was placed
1 Rega ding he e m inno a ion unde he p io i y o Pa ne ships o Inno a ion ocusing on Fo wa d-looking P ojec s,
he E asmus+ P og am e e s o " os e [ing] inno a ion, c ea i i y and pa icipa ion, as well as social en ep eneu ship
in di e en ields o educa ion and aining. I will suppo o wa d-looking ideas based a ound key Eu opean p io i ies,
(…) and gi ing inpu o imp o ing educa ion and aining sys ems, as well as o b ing a subs an ial inno a i e e ec
in e ms o me hods and p ac ices o all ypes o lea ning and ac i e pa icipa ion se ings o Eu ope's social cohesion"
(Eu opean Commission, 2024, p. 16).
436 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
in he o eg ound o he E asmus+ p og am (Eu opean Commission, 2024). Acco dingly,
he impo ance o AI is e lec ed in he educa ional con ex h ough policy unding no only
a na ional le el (e.g., Digi alisa ion Mas e Plan o Lowe Saxony in Ge many) bu also
explici ly a in e na ional le el (e.g., Digi al Educa ion Ac ion Plan and E asmus+ P og am
o 2021-2027 o he Eu opean Commission). Fu he mo e, unde he keywo d 'A i icial
In elligence' on he Eu opean Commission's p ojec and esul s pla o m, he e a e a o al o
689 e e ences o EU- unded p ojec s, whe eby 389 p ojec s on AI can al eady be ound o
he EU unding pe iod om 2021 o 20272. App op ia ely, CEDEFOP and Re e Ne (2023, p.
1) emphasise he need " o in eg a e AI compe ences in educa ion and aining a schools, a
he wo kplace (e.g. app en iceship aining), in eaching and a uni e si ies".
In o de o add ess he opic o ne wo king and coope a ion wi h ega d o he AI appli-
ca ion in VET, an E asmus+ p ojec is analysed as an example o he ca ego y o pa ne -
ships o inno a ion and o wa d-looking p ojec s in his s udy. The VET inno a ion p o-
jec AI Pionee s ( unded wi hin he Eu opean Union E asmus+ p og am, pe iod 2023-2025)
p omo es he use and eaching o AI in adul and oca ional educa ion and aining, wi h a
o al o 10 p ojec pa ne s om se en di e en EU coun ies in ol ed in he p ojec ne wo k
(Ge many, G eece, Po ugal, I aly, Spain, Cyp us, Es onia). The ocus o he p ojec , besides
he de elopmen o policy ecommenda ions, AI oolki s, implemen a ion guidelines o AI
use cases and e hical and us wo hy use o AI in educa ion, is p edominan ly on he imple-
men a ion and es ablishmen o an in e na ional ne wo k o AI Pionee s. In his ega d edu-
ca o s, s akeholde s, policy make s and educa ion planne s a e add essed as e e ence poin s
in he ne wo k o he design and implemen a ion o ( u u e) educa ion p ojec s ela ed o
AI (see e.g., A well e al., 2023; Dei me e al., 2024; G ollmann e al., 2024; Meyne & Sie-
me , 2024). The eme ging ne wo k will p omo e he exchange o bes p ac ices and na ional
communi ies o p ac ice (CoP) o inc ease anspa ency ega ding he applica ion o AI in
educa ional se ings.
In he cu en scien i ic discou se, he impo ance o he ac o s in ol ed and he esul-
ing social ne wo ks in in e na ional VET coope a ion is emphasised in a la ge numbe o
empi ical s udies (see e.g., Albe z & Pilz, 2025; Gessle , 2019; Pe e s & Gessle , 2019; Pilz,
2016; Pilz & Zenne ‐Hö kes, 2023; Röh e e al., 2021). Howe e , he s a e o esea ch in he
ield o VET (see e.g., Coppe e al., 2023; Schlich & Moschne , 2018; Messmann e al., 2018)
and especially he eco ding o social capi al in in e na ional VET esea ch is conside ably
limi ed (see Gessle & Sieme , 2020; Sieme & Gessle , 2021).
Agains his backg ound, he a icle is based on he assump ion ha he de elopmen o
social capi al in he cou se o ne wo k o ma ion o unded p ojec s has an in luence on he
2 The majo i y o he p ojec s a e loca ed in he Ho izon Eu ope p og am. I he sea ch e ms a e used independen ly o each
o he , he e a e 1205 en ies wi h in o al 665 p ojec s be ween 2021 and 2027 (sea ch s a us: 18 h Feb ua y 2025): h ps://
ec.eu opa.eu/in o/ unding- ende s/oppo uni ies/po al/sc een/oppo uni ies/p ojec s- esul s?o de =DESC&pageNumbe
=1&pageSize=50&so By= i le&keywo ds=A i icial%20In elligence&isExac Ma ch= alse
437
Meyne, Sieme
sus ainabili y o hose. One app oach o iden i y such ou wa d- acing ne wo king ac i i ies
comes om inno a ion esea ch and is based on he p omo e model (Gemünden & Hölzle,
2005; Hauschild & Chak aba i, 1988; Wi e, 1973). This model comp ises he ollowing ou
p omo e oles: Powe p omo e , p o essional p omo e , p ocess p omo e and ela ionship
p omo e , whe eby he la e ole is in e -o ganisa ionally o ien ed and mainly cha ac e ised
by ex e nal ne wo king ac i i ies (Gemünden e al., 2007; Gemünden & Hölzle, 2005). On
he basis o he ela ionship p omo e o he AI Pionee s p ojec pa ne s, his a icle applies
egocen ic ne wo k analysis and examines he de elopmen o social capi al (e.g., in ensi y o
he es ablished ela ionships):
Egocen ic ne wo k da a desc ibe he local social en i onmen s su ounding indi idual ac-
o s in a ne wo k – usually comp ising one o mo e o each ocal ac o 's di ec con ac s ("al-
e s") and ce ain quali ies o he dyadic ela ionships be ween ha ac o ("ego") and he al e s.
(Ma sden & Campbell, 2012, p. 18)
The e o e, he aim o his s udy is o use egocen ic ne wo k analysis o examine he de elop-
men and es ablishmen o (in e na ional) ne wo ks on o wa d-looking opics in oca ional
educa ion and aining using he example o he E asmus+ unded AI Pionee s inno a ion
p ojec . The ocus is on he iden i ica ion o cen al ac o s and hei de elopmen o social
capi al as well as he in ensi y o ela ionships be ween unded pa ne s in he cou se o ne -
wo k o ma ion in he o m o a mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic ne wo k analysis o gain an
o e all pic u e o he combined ne wo k s uc u es (see Chap e 2). The analysis is based on
ne wo k da a o 10 ela ionship p omo e s (egos) o he p ojec pa ne s unded as pa o AI
Pionee s and he ela ionships o he ac o s (al e s) ha a ise in he p ojec con ex in hei
egocen ic ne wo ks: "Ac o s [in social ne wo ks] a e o en indi iduals. Bu o ganisa ions o
s a es can also ac as nodes in social ne wo ks" (Fuhse, 2018, p. 14; ansla ed by he au ho s).
The p esen s udy hus pu sues he ollowing main esea ch ques ion (RQ): To wha ex-
en has social capi al e ol ed wi hin he ne wo k in he in e na ional AI Pionee s p ojec ? To
answe his main ques ion, he ollowing sub esea ch ques ions a ise:
–RQ1: Which ac o s (al e s) play a cen al ole in ne wo k o ma ion in he AI Pionee s
p ojec ?
–RQ2: How a e he ela ionships wi hin he analysed egocen ic ne wo ks o med in e ms
o hei in ensi y?
–RQ3: Wha unc ions and ele ance do hese al e s b ing o he egocen ic ne wo ks?
438 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
To answe hese ques ions, he a icle is s uc u ed as ollows: Chap e 2 in oduces he
heo e ical amewo k and se s ou ele an de ini ions o his s udy. Chap e 3 p esen s he
esea ch design including he esea ch app oach, he da a sample, he da a collec ion and
analysis. Chap e 4 is dedica ed o he esul s o his s udy. In chap e 5, he esul s and he
me hodological app oach a e discussed. The a icle concludes in chap e 6 wi h he limi a-
ions o he s udy and an ou look o u u e esea ch.
2 Theo e icalF amewo k
In collec ing ne wo k da a, Hansen e al. (2011) e e o he analysis o o e all ne wo ks ( ull
ne wo ks), sec ions o hese (pa ial ne wo ks) and indi idual ne wo ks o ac o s (pe sonal/
egocen ic ne wo ks). Acco ding o Hansen e al. ull ne wo ks a e:
(…) O en c ea ed and a ailable when a single sys em, such as a social media pla o m, ac s as
a hub among a g oup o connec ed people o g oups (…). A ull o comple e ne wo k con ains all
he people o en i ies o in e es and he connec ions among hem. All egos a e ea ed equally.
(Hansen e al., 2011, p. 36)
In pa ial ne wo ks, on he o he hand, esea che s selec ce ain en i ies o a supe o dina e
ne wo k as he uni o analysis (Hansen e al., 2011). Fu he mo e, "i is o en use ul o consi-
de social ne wo ks om an indi idual membe 's poin o iew", so ha , s a ing om a sin-
gle ac o (ego), he connec ions o o he pe sons (al e s), and some imes also he connec ions
be ween di e en al e s, a e analysed (Hansen e al., 2011, p. 36; see Figu e 1). The isualisa-
ion o di e en ypes o ne wo k da a o en occu s in he o m o ne wo k maps. Holls ein
and P e e (2010) also emphasise ha s udies in which ne wo k maps a e used o en in ol e
compa isons wi hin hese maps (e.g., be ween al e s) o be ween di e en maps (e.g., di e-
en egocen ic ne wo ks). The analysis o indi idual egocen ic ne wo k da a wi hou a com-
mon con ex could acco dingly be e e ed o as i s -o de egocen ic analysis, while in he
con ex o he p esen s udy, he combina ion o mul iple pe spec i es o di e en egocen ic
ne wo ks and hei connec ions o each o he wi hin an o e all pe spec i e could be hough
o as second-o de egocen ic ne wo k analysis (see Figu e 2). Based on he E asmus+ inno-
a ion p ojec AI Pionee s, he a icle adop s he second-o de pe spec i e o egocen ic ne -
wo k analyses p esen ed he e, so ha a mul i-egocen ic ne wo k analysis is ca ied ou in he
cou se o he s udy and hus se e al egos (N = 10) a e su eyed in o de o d aw conclusions
abou he de eloped social capi al in he common p ojec con ex . These wo unde s andings
o egocen ic ne wo k analyses a e illus a ed below.
439
Meyne, Sieme
Figu e 1: Visualisa ion o a "Fi s -O de " Pe spec i e on an Egocen ic Ne -
wo k (own compila ion in acco dance wi h Hansen e al., 2011, p. 168)
Figu e 2: Visualisa ion o a "Second-O de " Pe spec i e on Egocen ic Ne wo ks (own compila ion)
440 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
In he ollowing, he heo e ical amewo k o he s udy is desc ibed (see Figu e 3), which
includes app oaches om a social ne wo k pe spec i e (see G ano e e , 1973; Ma sden
& Campbell, 2012) om psychology in ela ion o he analysis o in e pe sonal us (see
Schwee , 2008), sociology ega ding he social capi al app oach (see Bou dieu, 1983) and
business adminis a ion by add essing he oles o ac o s in inno a ion p ocesses (see Gess-
le , 2019; Wi e, 1973). Those app oaches a e subsequen ly empi ically applied o he ield o
oca ional educa ion and aining (see Chap e 3 and 4).
Figu e 3: Concep Map o he Theo e ical F amewo k o he S udy (own compila ion)
To cap u e he ela ionships wi hin ne wo ks, his pape will d aw on he concep o social
capi al, which is signi ican o unde s anding he unc ion o ela ionships. Among he mos
p ominen au ho s who shaped he de ini ion o his concep a e Pie e Bou dieu (see e.g.,
1983) and Robe Pu nam (see e.g., 1995). Howe e , bo h ep esen di e en pe spec i es
on he opic: Bou dieu de ines social capi al as " he o ali y o ac ual and po en ial esou ces
associa ed wi h he possession o a du able ne wo k o mo e o less ins i u ionalised ela ions
o mu ual knowledge o ecogni ion" (Bou dieu, 1983, p. 191; ansla ed by he au ho s) and
o eg ounds social capi al as a p i a e good. Al hough Pu nam (2001) inc easingly ocuses
his esea ch on he socie al e ec s o social capi al, he s a es: "The e a e bo h public and p i-
a e aces o social capi al" (Pu nam, 2001, p. 1). Pu nam u he cha ac e ises social capi al
as " ea u es o social o ganisa ion such as ne wo ks, no ms, and social us ha acili a e
coo dina ion and coope a ion o mu ual bene i " (Pu nam, 1995, p. 67) and desc ibes he
concep o us as being ele an o social capi al. Despi e Pu nam's iew o social capi al
om he pe spec i e o socie y as a whole, his conside a ions on us a e ele an o social
447
Meyne, Sieme
hem (Häußling, 2009a). Häußling poin s ou ha he e is a e y di e en unde s anding o
ne wo ks in esea ch. I can be assumed ha ne wo ks hemsel es a e o be unde s ood as
bounda ies (see e.g., Ka a illidis, 2009), ha ne wo ks ha e no bounda ies a all (see e.g., Me-
wes, 2009) and/o ha ne wo ks ha e blu ed bounda ies (Häußling, 2009b). Fu he mo e,
Abbo (1995) s a es:
I is w ong o look o bounda ies be ween p eexis ing social en i ies. Ra he we should s a wi h
bounda ies and in es iga e how people c ea e en i ies by linking hose bounda ies in o uni s. We
should no look o bounda ies o hings bu o hings o bounda ies. (Abbo , 1995, p. 857)
Acco dingly, we de ine he ne wo k o be analysed in his s udy along he hema ic ocus o
he AI Pionee s p ojec . Using mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic ne wo k analysis (see e.g., Pe y
e al., 2018; McCallis e & Fische 1978; see also Chap e 3.2), he sample is asked abou
hei ele an ela ionships in he p ojec con ex , he eby de ining he al e s o he p ojec
pa ne s in e ms o hei connec ion and exchange wi h he AI Pionee s p ojec and hus
ocusing on a speci ic numbe o ac o s and ela ionships.
3.2 Phase2:Quali a i eSu eyIns umen s
In he second phase, a ully s uc u ed in e iew ques ionnai e and a semi-s uc u ed in-
e iew guideline we e de eloped based on he model by Gessle and Sieme (2020) and on
he heo e ical amewo k p esen ed in Chap e 2. The ad an age o using ully s uc u ed
in e iews is ha hey make he in e iew si ua ion easie o he in e iewees by allowing
he in e iewe o ill in he s anda dised answe s oge he wi h he in e iewee. This makes
i possible o ask ques ions di ec ly in he e en o comp ehension p oblems (Dö ing, 2023).
In his phase, an ini ial in e iew was conduc ed wi h he in e iewees o discuss ma e s o
unde s anding in ad ance. The in e iew si ua ion included an explana ion o he ca ego ies.
The s uc u ed in e iew guideline was hen illed ou collabo a i ely.
Table 2 in he appendix shows he ully s uc u ed in e iew ques ionnai e, in acco dance
wi h Gessle and Sieme (2020) and en iched by u he ca ego ies (see Chap e 2) wi h he
co esponding ques ions/s a emen s and selec able answe op ions. The selec ion o he ap-
plicable answe op ion was made by he in e iewees hemsel es (see Table 2 in he appen-
dix).
A semi-s uc u ed in e iew guideline was de eloped on he basis o he ully s uc u ed
app oach (Dö ing, 2023) o ga he u he in o ma ion and con ex ual knowledge abou he
ela ionships. The in e iew guideline was es ed in ad ance and subsequen ly adap ed (F ie-
be shäuse & Lange , 2013). The ollowing able shows exempla y in-dep h ques ions along
he main ca ego ies o he p esen s udy (Table 3).
448 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
Table 3: Ca ego y Sys em Wi h Example Ques ions
Ca ego ies Example Ques ions
In o ma ion abou he pe son Do you assume gene ally ha a ela ionship o us will e ol e wi h new
people when you i s mee hem?
In o ma ion abou he pa ne o ganisa ions Could you please ell us in ad ance wha exac ly hese o ganisa ions a e ha
you ha e en e ed in he ques ionnai e, in o he wo ds wha hey do in hei
day- o-day business and why you ha e lis ed hem in gene al?
In ensi y o he ela ionship How do he lis ed con ac s ha we e desc ibed as ha ing a high deg ee o
willingness o mu ually exchange in o ma ion di e om he o he s? Wha
p ojec - ela ed in o ma ion is in ol ed he e exac ly?
Func ion o he o ganisa ions Can you gi e us a ew examples ega ding he ca ego ised ac o s in e ms o
powe , expe ise, social capi al and p ocesses?
Rele ance o he ela ionships in he cou se
o he p ojec
Can you explain in mo e de ail how he ela ionships and o ganisa ions a e
classi ied in e ms o hei impo ance o he AI Pionee s p ojec ?
In his s udy, he ca ego ies lis ed ep esen he hema ic a eas o he ully s uc u ed in e iew
ques ionnai e and he semi-s uc u ed in e iew guideline (see also Table 2 in he appendix).
The da a was collec ed by he au ho s. The da a ma e ial was analysed on he basis o a p e i-
ously de eloped coding sys em. In a i s s ep, he da a ma e ial was analysed independen ly
by he au ho s. In a second s ep, he esul s we e discussed, which led o a consensus. The da a
collec ion was ca ied ou using he ideo con e encing so wa e Zoom. The in e iews we e
ansc ibed using he F4x ansc ip ion ool. The analysis and coding we e ini ially ca ied ou
deduc i ely and subsequen ly induc i ely based on quali a i e con en analysis acco ding o
Kucka z (2018) by using he MaxQDA so wa e o analyse he ansc ip ions.
The me hodological e lec ion o ou s udy is based on he c i ical app aisal ool o quali a-
i e esea ch by Lockwood e al. (2024). Lockwood e al. (2024, p. 2) poin ed ou ini ially: "The
pu pose o his app aisal is o assess he me hodological quali y o a s udy and o de e mine he
ex en o which a s udy has add essed he possibili y o bias in i s design, conduc and analysis".
3.3 Phase3:Valida iono heNe wo kMaps
Fo he isualisa ion o he ne wo k da a, we used he ype o s uc u ed and s anda dised
ne wo k maps (Holls ein & P e e , 2010). The concen ic ci cles in ou s udy exp ess he
emo ional closeness and dis ance o he ego. The s uc u ing elemen s comp ise he g ada-
ions us (highes deg ee o closeness), coope a ion, goal-o ien ed coo dina ion, mu ual
exchange o in o ma ion and pu e exchange (highes deg ee o dis ance) and hus enable
compa abili y o he ne wo k maps de e mined. This means ha bo h he ela ionships o he
al e s o he ego wi hin a map (e.g. based on ci cle and sec o assignmen s) and, in some ca-
ses, di e en maps can be analysed in ela ion o each o he (Holls ein & P e e , 2010). While
he use o s anda dised ne wo k maps leads o inc eased compa abili y be ween hose, a high
deg ee o s anda disa ion limi s he con ex ual knowledge o he isualised ne wo k da a.
449
Meyne, Sieme
In o de o o e come hese limi a ions, we complemen he s udy wi h quali a i e esea ch
me hods (Holls ein & P e e , 2010).
The isualisa ion o he ne wo k maps was c ea ed in own compila ion by he au ho s o
he s udy in acco dance wi h he ool VennMake (K onenwe & Schönhu h, 2014) based on
he da a o he egocen ic ne wo ks collec ed ia he ully s uc u ed in e iew ques ionnai e.
The c ea ed ne wo k maps we e alida ed in a second appoin men ia Zoom wi h he egos
( ela ionship p omo e s). This p ocedu e was chosen o con i m he alidi y o he gene a ed
ne wo k maps on he pa o he egos as well as o make changes i hese a e necessa y on-si e
o ego o ep esen he ela ionship o he al e s in i s isualisa ion accu a ely. Finally, wo
ne wo k maps a e isualised as examples o his a icle.
4 Findings
In he ollowing, he esul s o he su ey o ne wo k s uc u es in he VET Inno a ion p o-
jec AI Pionee s a e p esen ed, s a ing by add essing he i s esea ch ques ion ocused on
he analysed ela ionships (al e s) o he mul iple egocen ic ne wo ks (RQ1). Subsequen ly
he opics o he in ensi y o he su eyed ela ionships (RQ2) as well as he unc ion o he
al e s in he ne wo k (RQ3) a e p esen ed in de ail. The p esen a ion o he esul s does no
ollow he lis in Table 1 in o de o ensu e he anonymi y o he esponden s. Two exempla y
ne wo k maps (see igu e 4 and 57) a e included in he p esen a ion o he indings o isu-
alise he esul s o he su ey. The iden i ica ion o he ela ionships wi hin he egocen ic
ne wo ks (N = 10) o he p esen s udy was ca ied ou om he subjec i e pe spec i e o he
egos in e iewed.
4.1 WhichAc o s(Al e s)PlayaCen alRoleinNe wo kFo ma ionin he
AIPionee sP ojec ?
A he ime o da a collec ion, a o al o 74 ela ionships we e eco ded in he 10 egocen ic
ne wo ks combined. The ela ionships we e ca ego ised by he egos as ollows wi h ega d
o he social unc ional sys em o he ac o s: Poli ics (n = 4), economy, (n = 3), educa ion (n
= 54), science (n = 7), media (n = 0) and o he s (n = 6; see Table 3). In he a ea o poli ics,
he in e iewees named ou minis ies and poli ical adminis a i e bodies (E02; E05; E08),
while wi h ega d o he economy, one cons uc ion company and wo AI companies a e
lis ed (E01; E07; E10). A mo e di e en ia ed pic u e eme ges conce ning he sec o s educa-
ion, science and o he s. In line wi h he p ojec aims, he educa ion sec o is add essed by
7 The wo exempla y ne wo k maps we e selec ed o illus a e he di e si y o he s uc u es o he egocen ic ne wo ks, as hey
show e.g. he ole o an ego wi h yea s o expe ience in he ield wi h a co esponding numbe o ela ionships ha al eady
exis ed be o e he s a o he p ojec and we e main ained (Figu e 4), compa ed o he ne wo k o an ego ha could no d aw
on such an ex ensi e exis ing ne wo k bu had es ablished new ela ionships in he p ojec con ex (Figu e 5).
450 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
he majo i y (n = 54). In his ega d, ela ionships wi h a o al o 24 oca ional schools
and adul educa ion cen es, as well as h ee seconda y schools, we e eco ded (see Table
4). These p ima ily include echnical oca ional schools (TVET), which a e o example
in ol ed in obo ics p ojec s in indus y in connec ion wi h p ocess and p oduc ion au-
oma ion, p ojec s on he use o AI o inc ease he ene gy e iciency o buildings, AI o
p og amming in compu e science and mecha onics lessons and, in pa icula , he use
o gene a i e AI in eaching (E06). Fu he mo e, he use o AI in schools is also being
conside ed in he a ea o hospi ali y (E10), and in p o essional educa ion in aes he ics o
aining cou ses (E03): The ange o po en ial applica ion scena ios o AI in he ield o
oca ional and adul educa ion is acco dingly e y di e se (E01; E03; E05; E06; E09; E10).
Fu he mo e, a la ge numbe o Eu opean and in e na ional associa ions om he
ield o oca ional and adul educa ion a e men ioned by he egos (n = 11), which a e
dedica ed o li elong lea ning, e-lea ning and dis ance educa ion in addi ion o oca io-
nal educa ion in gene al (E03; E05; E07; E09). The lis ed ela ionships o he egos also
include a o al o six non-p o i o ganisa ions om he educa ion sec o , which deal wi h
opics such as AI in e hics and pedagogy, lea ning analy ics, digi al in as uc u e, as
well as social disad an age and educa ional jus ice (E02; E07). In addi ion, ela ionships
wi h h ee consul ancies in he ield o AI in educa ion a e lis ed (E07). The emaining
ela ionships a e wi h in e nal and ex e nal esea ch ins i u ions (n = 20) ha deal di-
ec ly o indi ec ly wi h he opic o AI in educa ion, whe eby one hink ank is also
lis ed (E02; E04; E05; E06; E07; E08).
Table 4: Cha ac e is ics o he Al e s
Ca ego ies n Ca ego ies n
Cha ac e is ics o he Al e s
Social unc ional sys em Loca ion o pa ne o ganisa ion
(1) Poli ics 4 (1) Coun y o p ojec pa ne 56
(2) Economy 3 (2) O he EU coun y 14
(3) Educa ion 54 (3) Coun y ou side EU 4
(4) Science 7
(5) Media 0
(6) O he s 6
In ensi y o he Rela ionships
Closeness Communica ion channel
(1) No ela ionship 2 (1) Mainly ace o ace in p esence 3
(2) Pu e exchange o in o ma ion
(weak ela ionship)
14 (2) Mainly ace o ace online ( ideo call) 17
(3) Mu ual exchange ( a he weak ela ionship) 15 (3) Mainly email 31
451
Meyne, Sieme
(4) Goal-o ien ed coo dina ion (p omising
ela ionship)
23 (4) Mainly phone 19
(5) Coope a ion ( a he s ong ela ionship) 13 (5) Mainly cha (e.g., Wha sApp, Teleg am, Skype) 4
(6) T us in each o he (s ong ela ionship) 7
Recip oci y/ mu uali y o us Symme y o he ela ionship s uc u e
(1) No mu ual us 0 (1) Asymme ical 4
(2) Low mu ual us 19 (2) Ra he asymme ical 17
(3) Ra he high mu ual us 43 (3) Ra he symme ical 28
(4) Ve y high mu ual us 12 (4) Symme ical 22
(5) P e e no o answe 3
Yea s o acquain ance F equency o con ac
(1) Hal a yea o less 6 (1) Less han once a mon h 50
(2) Be ween hal a yea and 1 yea 6 (2) Once a mon h 22
(3) Be ween 1 and 2 yea s 16 (3) Once a week 2
(4) Mo e han 2 yea s 46 (4) Mo e han once a week 0
Rela ionship ini ia ion be o e he p ojec
(1) Yes 57
(2) No 17
Func ion o he Al e s
Powe p omo e Expe ise p omo e
(1) No powe 40 (1) No expe ise 6
(2) Some powe 25 (2) Some expe ise 31
(3) Ra he high powe 7 (3) Ra he high expe ise 25
(4) Ve y high powe 2 (4) Ve y high expe ise 12
Rela ionship p omo e P ocess p omo e
(1) No ela ionship capi al 5 (1) No p ocess knowledge 11
(2) Some ela ionship capi al 36 (2) Some p ocess knowledge 30
(3) Ra he high ela ionship capi al 23 (3) Ra he high p ocess knowledge 20
(4) Ve y high ela ionship capi al 10 (4) Ve y high p ocess knowledge 13
Rele ance o he Al e s
A i ude owa ds he p ojec In luence on he p ojec
(1) nega i e (hinde ing) 0 (1) No in luence 34
(2) Ra he nega i e 0 (2) Some in luence 29
(3) Neu al (indi e en ) 14 (3) Ra he high in luence 7
(4) Ra he posi i e 53 (4) Ve y high in luence 4
(5) Posi i e (p omo ing) 7
Impo ance o he p ojec Willingness o suppo he p ojec
(1) No impo an 6 (1) No willingness 2
(2) Less impo an 28 (2) Some willingness 35
(3) Ra he impo an 34 (3) Ra he high willingness 31
(4) Ve y impo an 6 (4) Ve y high willingness 6
452 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
In e es in he p ojec
(1) No in e es 1
(2) Less in e es 15
(3) Ra he high in e es 51
(4) Ve y high in e es 7
No e. Each ca ego y ep esen s he 74 ela ionships o he 10 egocen ic ne wo ks combined.
Wi h ega d o he geog aphical loca ion o he ela ionships, i should be no ed ha 56 con-
ac s o igina e om he pa ne coun ies o he p ojec conso ium, while 18 con ac s a e
wi h ac o s in o he EU coun ies (n = 14) and coun ies ou side he EU (n = 4; see Table 4).
The speci ic ocus on he coun ies wi hin he p ojec conso ium is jus i ied by an ego ega -
ding he ole o he pa ne s in he p ojec con ex : "This is also ela ed o how he p ojec is
s uc u ed and wha is equi ed om us as a pa ne (…), you' e mos ly equi ed o add he
con ac s om his coun y. (…). I ha en' ied con ac ing VET schools ou side [pa ne s
coun y]" (E10, 69).
4.2 Howa e heRela ionshipsWi hin heAnalysedEgocen icNe -
wo ksFo medinTe mso Thei In ensi y?
O he ela ionships men ioned in all egocen ic ne wo ks, 57 al eady exis ed be o e he s a
o he p ojec , while 17 we e es ablished du ing he cou se o he p ojec a he ime o da a
collec ion.
Looking a he esul s o he closeness o he ela ionships, a ela i ely balanced dis ibu-
ion o he ela ionships can be seen in he middle cha ac e is ics o he ca ego y, while he
wo ou lying cha ac e is ics (no ela ionship, n = 2; s ong ela ionship, n = 7) we e a ely
assigned. The e o e, a o al o 14 ela ionships we e ca ego ised as pu e exchange o in o -
ma ion (weak ela ionship), 15 ela ionships as mu ual exchange bu dis anced ( a he weak
ela ionship), 23 as goal-o ien ed coo dina ion (p omising ela ionship) and 13 ela ionships
as coope a ion ( a he s ong ela ionship; see o example Figu e 4).
453
Meyne, Sieme
Figu e 4: Ne wo k S uc u e and Map o Ego 06 (own compila ion)
The ca ego y o pu e in o ma ion exchange (weak ela ionship) shows ha he ela ionships
a ed by ego a e mainly abou "(…) in o ming hem ha we ha e a p ojec . We a e wo king on
hese esul s and i you a e in e es ed, I can keep you upda ed" (E05, 36). In con as o his,
he subsequen ca ego y is cha ac e ised by a mu ual exchange ( a he weak ela ionship),
bu he ela ionship has he po en ial o imp o e in he u u e: "We ha e mu ual exchange
o di e en in o ma ion abou ou ela ions. A he momen I canno say ha i s s ong, bu
could be de eloped in he u u e" (E01, 18). Mos ela ionships in he p ojec a e loca ed in
he ca ego y o he goal-o ien ed coo dina ion (p omising ela ionship; n = 23), so ha a pu -
pose ul ag eemen wi h clea ac ions o be coo dina ed is gi en. Addi ionally, he egos in e -
iewed inc easingly emphasised ha a sha ed in e es ega ding he opic o communica ion
is impo an o main aining con ac (E04; E05; E10).
The ca ego y coope a ion ( a he s ong ela ionship) goes beyond he exchange wi hin
he goal-o ien ed coo dina ion and is cha ac e ised by a ce ain in e wining o he ac o s.
This ca ego y was p ima ily selec ed by he egos wi h ega d o ela ionships ha ha e al eady
been able o gain many yea s o expe ience in join coope a ion, o example h ough he imple-
men a ion o sha ed (E asmus+) p ojec s in he pas . O he 23 ela ionships in his ca ego y, 17
go beyond he p ojec du a ion and hus al eady exis ed be o e he s a o he p ojec (yea s o
454 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
acquain ance). Fu he mo e, i can be seen ha especially hose con ac s ha we e ca ego ised
as pu e exchange o in o ma ion we e mos ly newly es ablished du ing he p ojec pe iod (10 ou
o 14). Wi h ega d o he du a ion o he ela ionships in he o he subca ego ies o closeness,
he e is a clea concen a ion o longe es ablished ela ionships (longe han 2 yea s) ocusing
on coope a ion ( a he s ong ela ionship) and us ( e y s ong ela ionship).
The le el o us is being e alua ed du ing he yea s. (…) T us didn' exis in he e y beginning.
(…) I was much easie o me o con ac people and o ganisa ions ha I al eady know and he e
is his mu ual us . (…) The p incipal o he school, is a e y good iend, and I us him a lo .
(…) He assu ed me ha e e y hing will be okay wi h he school. (E01, 36 - 38)
A he same ime, i is also e iden ha pe sonal and iendly con ac s a e used in he wo k
con ex , which is associa ed wi h ce ain key posi ions o hese ac o s in he p o essional
ield (E01; E05). Fu he mo e, some ac o s who can al eady look back on a a ie y o E as-
mus+ p ojec expe ience ha e la ge ne wo k s uc u es and can mobilise exis ing con ac s
wi hin he AI Pionee s p ojec e ec i ely (E01, E03, E05, E06, E07), al hough he e a e also
excep ions he e in he in e play o ne wo k size and p o essional expe ience o he egos.
Acco dingly, egocen ic ne wo ks a e also p esen , in which ex ensi e expe ise is no ac-
companied by a co espondingly la ge ne wo k in he p ojec con ex (E02, E08, E09). A he
same ime, howe e , i can also be seen ha some egos wi h smalle p ojec - ela ed ne wo ks
ha e es ablished mo e new ela ionships wi hin he p ojec du a ion (E02, E08, E10). Ego 6
con adic s hese indings, meaning ha a ce ain ne wo k size al eady exis ed and was mobi-
lised o he analysed p ojec . A he same ime, howe e , 1/3 o he inal egocen ic ne wo k
o Ego 6 consis s o new con ac s ha we e es ablished wi hin he p ojec du a ion.
Wi h ega d o he ecip oci y o he ela ionships, he majo i y o hese a e ca ego ised by
he egos wi h a ela i ely high le el o mu ual us (n = 55). Howe e , a low mu ual us is
p esen in 19 ela ionships, which is mainly due o imbalances wi h ega d o asymme ical
powe ela ions (E02; E05), a lack o commi men o o he nega i e expe iences in he wo -
king con ex wi hin he ela ionship (E05; E07; E10). No ela ionship was desc ibed in e ms
o an absence o mu ual us . Fu he mo e, he ongoing de elopmen o mu ual us is em-
phasised, as acco ding o one in e iewee, small and medium-sized en e p ises in pa icula
mus cons an ly p o e hei us wo hiness in he wo k con ex :
Fo me i has o do wi h he c edibili y and hese a e pic u es o he us , i 's an ongoing p ocess.
Maybe you a e c edible oday and i you s a deli e ing ake hings, you lose you c edibili y and
his is a e y dynamic p ocess. (…) I has o do wi h he size o he o ganisa ion and he ype, o
example, a uni e si y. You can us mos ly a uni e si y. E en he pe sons a e changing bu i 's
unde he uni e si y. Bu o smalle companies like [pa ne o ganisa ion], his is a p ocess ha
e e y day we need o p o e ou c edibili y in o de o build us . And his is a wo-di ec ion p o-
cess o ha e us ul pa ne s and o gi e us o o he pa ne s. (E01, 98 - 101)
455
Meyne, Sieme
Wi h ega d o he symme y o he ela ionship s uc u e, 21 ela ionships we e ound o be
( a he ) asymme ical, meaning ha one pa ne has mo e powe han he o he (asymme-
ical, n = 4; a he asymme ical, n = 17) acco ding o he ca ego isa ion o he egos. While
one ego did no wan o classi y he hie a chical po en ial o h ee ela ionships, he majo i y
o he ela ionships a e classi ied as a he symme ical (n = 28) and symme ical (n = 22),
which means bo h pa ies ha e he same amoun o powe . Equal coope a ion is inc easingly
emphasised du ing he in e iews (E01; E03; E06; E08), he e pe sonal ne wo king p e e-
ences as well as a ge g oup-speci ic aspec s become appa en . Fo example, he desi e o
balance ou he powe imbalance is pa icula ly p onounced in he case o an ego in o de
o es ablish bene icial wo k on an equal le el: "I always ind i comple ely unpleasan o alk
o people whe e I ha e he eeling ha hey a e in an exagge a edly supplican o somehow
in e io posi ion. I don' hink any hing good comes ou o ha " (E02, 40). Fu he mo e, he
esul s show ha a ac ing sui able people om he p ojec 's a ge g oups can be a hu dle,
which ep oduces asymme ical ela ionships, as he p ojec is dependen on p ac i ione s,
especially VET schools, being in e es ed and wan ing o coope a e (E02; E04; E05). In ad-
di ion, he size o he pa icipa ing o ganisa ions (al e s) in e ms o a ailable esou ces and
pe sonnel in ol ed in ela ion o he p ojec pa ne s (egos) in he AI Pionee s conso ium
is also emphasised, which can also lead o an asymme ical powe imbalance i one side is
ins i u ionally signi ican ly la ge han he o he (E01; E07).
In e ms o he main communica ion channels used, he e is a clea dominance ega ding
emails as a cen al communica ion medium (n = 31), while he elephone (n = 19) and on-
line ideo calls (n = 17) a e also used. In con as , ace- o- ace mee ings in pe son (n = 3)
a e ha dly used as he p edominan communica ion channel, which seems o be pa ly due
o he condi ions o he Co id pandemic and he in e na ional na u e o hese p ojec s: "The
eali y is ha since he pandemic, we' e (…) cu down g ossly he amoun o ace- o- ace
con ac and I wonde i ha a ec s us . I hink ha does a ec us " (E07, 73-87). Finally,
cha unc ions a e only used in ou ela ionships as he mos equen ly used medium o
communica ing wi h each o he . Al hough i should be no ed ha all egos emphasised ha
hey use a a ie y o communica ion channels simul aneously, depending on hei pe sonal
p e e ence and ha o hei coun e pa . While a la ge numbe o di e en channels a e used
o communica ion, he equency o con ac ia hese channels is s ongly linked o he es-
pec i e p ojec phase and he ac i i ies ha a e planned in hese in exchange wi h he p ojec
a ge g oup. Acco dingly, he egos epo ed an a e age equency o con ac o less han once
a mon h o 50 ela ionships. In he case o 22 ela ionships, communica ion akes place once
a mon h and in only wo ela ionships once a week.
456 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
4.3 Wha Func ionsandRele anceDoTheseAl e sB ing o he
Egocen icNe wo ks?
Wi h ega d o he design o he p omo e oles and hus he unc ion o he ac o s in he
egocen ic ne wo ks, he egos in e iewed la gely ag ee ha he al e s in he coun y-speci ic
ne wo ks show low hie a chical po en ial in he p ojec - ela ed ne wo k. The majo i y o he
ela ionships (n = 40) we e ca ego ised ega ding he ole o he powe p omo e as ha ing
no powe , while 25 ela ionships a e ma ked as ha ing some (see Table 4). Fu he mo e,
one ego highligh s: "I 's abou he esea ch hey [al e ] do and o cou se ha also has some
in luence on how we assess he AI applica ions, he use cases (...), bu he e is de ini ely an
in luence. I is no wi hou in luence" (E06, 53). Acco dingly, he egos su eyed emphasise
ha he al e s con ibu e hei expe ise o he p ojec , bu ha hey ne e heless do no ha e
a ce ain amoun o au ho i y o in luence p ojec - ela ed p ocesses (E01; E02; E03; E04; E05;
E10). Howe e , he e a e ce ain al e s ha we e classi ied signi ican ly highe in his ca ego-
y ei he because hey occupy a special posi ion as pionee s in he implemen a ion o AI in
VET in e ms o hei echnical expe ise o because hey ha e a di ec link o poli ics and a e
he e o e in ol ed in discussion p ocesses abou AI in VET a policy le el (E06; E07; E08).
These s ill ep esen a mino i y o he ela ionships analysed in his su ey.
Add essing he ole o he expe ise p omo e , he majo i y o he ela ionships and ac o s
we e ca ego ised as ha ing some expe ise (n = 31), a he high expe ise (n = 25) and e y
high expe ise (n = 12) in he ield o AI in educa ion: "They ha e a lo o capi al all in di e-
en a eas, hey ha e a lo o expe ience i s , and second a b oad ne wo k o collabo a ion.
So, hey can be mul iplie s o wha we a e doing wi h ou p ojec " (E01, 72-73). Acco ding
o he egos in e iewed, such al e s wi h ( a he ) high expe ise possess such expe ise due
o hei many yea s o p o essional expe ience in he implemen a ion o E asmus+ p ojec s,
hei p ac ical knowledge in VET, including AI use cases and ini ia i es wi h wo k-based
lea ning app oaches, as well as hei con ibu ion o s a egic pe spec i es in VET. Fu he -
mo e, he academic expe ise in he ield o AI in educa ion is pa icula ly emphasised among
he al e s, as well as he echnical expe ise o AI de elope s (E01, E02, E04, E05, E06, E07,
E08, E10). Only six ela ionships we e ma ked wi h no expe ise in his ega d. Such al e s,
who ha e no been iden i ied as ha ing any specialis expe ise, a e ce ainly in e es ed in
he p ojec esul s and mos impo an ly ha e knowledge wi h ega d o he o he p omo e
oles, e.g. high ne wo king skills (E02, E03, E09). Language ba ie s when i comes o con-
ibu ing expe ise as well as he iden i ica ion and es ablishmen o new ela ionships wi h
ele an expe s is emphasised as a cen al hu dle o ne wo k o ma ion (E02; E03; E04; E08;
E09; E10).
Addi ionally, he dis ibu ion o he ole o he ela ionship p omo e in he egocen ic
ne wo ks shows ha a o al o 36 al e s ha e some ela ionship capi al, a u he 23 ha e
a he high ela ionship capi al, while 10 al e s possess a e y high ela ionship capi al ela ed
463
Meyne, Sieme
subjec - ela ed analyses – as is he case in he use o egocen ic ne wo k analysis – a e o
make he me hodological p ocedu e anspa en and ep oducible and o enable e i ica ion
and alsi ica ion o he esul s. In he ollowing, he use o egocen ic social ne wo k analysis
wi h ega d o he chosen me hodological app oach (RQ3) is add essed in o de o iden i y
indings and obs acles o u u e VET esea ch.
Acco ding o Lockwood e al. (2024), he c i ical e alua ion o quali a i e esea ch is
based on an exac ma ch be ween he chosen esea ch ques ions, he heo e ical and con-
cep ual ounda ions used and he esul ing da a collec ion ins umen . The me hodological
app oach o ou s udy hus allows he ollowing conclusions o be d awn wi h ega d o he
quali y assu ance o he esul s:
– The quali a i e app oach in his s udy was sys ema ised in e ms o i s anspa ency,
comp ehensibili y and ep oducibili y by de i ing a heo y-based esea ch app oach.
Based on he heo e ical amewo k, he quali a i e s anda dised ques ionnai e and
semi-s uc u ed guideline we e hen de eloped. This me hodological app oach makes
i possible o inc ease he comp ehensibili y o he esul s and o classi y hem wi hin
a gi en amewo k. Based on he heo e ical amewo k, which combines app oaches
om psychology, sociology and inno a ion esea ch, he su ey ins umen s could be
concep ually and s a egically amed, which in u n inc eases bo h he anspa ency
o he esul s and hei comp ehensibili y and enables he esul s o be compa ed.
– The alidi y o he me hodological app oach chosen he e ecei es u he empi ical
e idence h ough an ups eam p e- es and h ough i s applica ion in he AI Pionee s
s udy con ex . The cong uence be ween esea ch me hodology, esea ch ques ion and
da a collec ion me hods can he e o e be ega ded as gi en (Lockwood e al., 2024).
The alidi y o he iden i ied ne wo k maps also ecei es u he e idence h ough
he e iew and app o al o he egos. Ne e heless, i should be no ed ha he su ey
ins umen s a e no alida ed up o now.
– Agains he backg ound o he objec i i y o he esul s, i should be aken in o ac-
coun ha he assessmen s o he egocen ic ne wo ks a e based on he subjec i e pe -
cep ion o he egos. Ne e heless, he combina ion o he ully and semi-s uc u ed
su ey ins umen s p o ed o be use ul in he cou se o he da a collec ion du ing he
in e iew se ings in o de o c ea e compa abili y o he da a and o cap u e complex
and in-dep h in o ma ion abou he subjec o in es iga ion.
– Acco ding o he accu acy o he esea ch ques ions, he heo y, he su ey ins u-
men s and he case selec ion, he ield access and he uni o analysis mus also be
464 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
chosen app op ia ely so ha he esea ch design is cohe en (Lockwood e al., 2024).
In his espec , he p esen s udy e e ed o he unded p ojec pa ne s wi hin he
AI Pionee s p ojec , so ha di ec ield access was al eady gi en by he join unding
con ex . In acco dance wi h he su ey me hod o mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic ne -
wo k analysis, he sample was selec ed on he basis o he unded p ojec pa ne s in
he ne wo k and hus on hei ela ionship p omo e s o ge an in-dep h iew o he
p ojec - ela ed ne wo k on he basis o he pe sonal ne wo k s uc u es combined.
– The applica ion o he p omo e model p o ed o be use ul in he con ex o his su -
ey, so ha he egocen ic ne wo ks could be analysed om he pe spec i e o he
pe son who summa ises he con ac s pe pa ne o ganisa ion. On he basis o his,
he ne wo k can be na owed down o he indi idual assessmen o he in e iewees.
The de ini ion o ne wo k bounda ies is essen ial o he da a collec ion o egocen ic
ne wo ks (see Chap e 3). The na u al bounda ies de ined by he unding amewo k
o he AI Pionee s p ojec made i possible o na ow down he ele an ela ionships
o his empi ical s udy.
– The pe spec i e o he al e s was no eco ded, so ha a pa ial iew o he p ojec
ne wo k could be p o ided om mul iple pe spec i es. Acco dingly, he empi ical
esul s do no con ain an objec i iable measu e, as would be he case in whole ne -
wo k s uc u es. Consequen ly, he ne wo k maps a e an indi idual e lec ion o he
social capi al o he egos in e iewed. The connec ions o al e s shown in he ne wo k
maps p o ide insigh s in o he indi idual social s uc u es o he AI Pionee s p ojec
pa ne s. A he ime o he su ey, hey p o ided impo an insigh s in o pe sonal
esou ces and enable a desc ip ion o he in ensi y and unc ion o hese om a sub-
jec i e pe spec i e.
– By using social ne wo k analysis, i was possible o iden i y p edominan ly s ong ies
be ween ego and al e s. Howe e , wi h he me hodological app oach used he e, i e-
mains unclea o wha ex en he al e s men ioned assess he bond wi h he egos and
how he al e s a e in e connec ed wi h each o he wi h ega d o he exchange o con-
en on a i icial in elligence in oca ional educa ion and aining. I should also be
poin ed ou ha u he ele an ins i u ions (al e s) migh be included in he u he
cou se o he p ojec and ha he ne wo k maps shown in he a icle do no p o ide a
comple e pic u e o he ne wo k s uc u e o he AI Pionee s p ojec as would be he
case in he eco ding o whole ne wo k s uc u es.
465
Meyne, Sieme
Despi e he e o s lis ed he e o design he me hodological app oach used o his s udy in
a comp ehensible and anspa en manne , ou s udy has limi a ions. This pape concludes
wi h he limi a ions o he s udy and an ou look o u u e esea ch.
6 Conclusion,Limi a ionsandFu u eResea ch
In his s udy, he me hodological app oach o a mul i-pe spec i e egocen ic social ne -
wo k analysis was used o analyse he ne wo k s uc u es om he pe spec i e o indi idu-
al ac o s (pe sonal ne wo ks). This has been add essed on he basis o an inno a ion p o-
jec wi h he cen al goal o ne wo k o ma ion abou AI in VET in an in e na ional con ex
by collec ing da a on ego-al e ela ionships. Fu he mo e, he combina ion o egocen ic
da a as a mul iple-pe spec i e egocen ic ne wo k analysis is bene icial o an o e a ching
iew o a common con ex (e.g., p ojec o p og amme) in o de o gain an ini ial insigh
in o ne wo k s uc u es ha go beyond he pe spec i e o a single ego, bu a he same ime
do no co espond o he unde aking o eco ding o e all ne wo k s uc u es.
In a i s s ep, he wo (s anda dised) su ey ins umen s we e c ea ed o he pu pose
o he s udy, so ha in a second s ep, hey we e applied in he cou se o a quali a i e da a
collec ion o 10 egocen ic ne wo ks (pa ne s o he E asmus+ AI Pionee s p ojec as
egos). Subsequen ly he da a we e used o gene a e ne wo k maps o isualise exempla y
egocen ic ne wo ks o he s udy.
One ad an age o he chosen me hodological app oach is ha in he con ex o he
p ojec - ela ed ne wo k de elopmen o AI Pionee s, a de ailed analysis o a pe son's social
ela ionships (ego) and hei di ec connec ions (al e s) was possible. Fu he mo e, he
s udy no only makes a signi ican con ibu ion o VET esea ch and i s me hodological
se , bu also o he E asmus+ unding landscape by highligh ing pe sonal esou ces, so-
cial suppo and indi idual pe cep ions o p ojec - ela ed ne wo ks. On he basis o he
knowledge gained in his s udy, i would be possible in a nex s ep o ake measu es o
expand he p ojec ne wo k s uc u es ega ding impo an g oups o s akeholde s ha
a e no ye su icien ly eached (e.g., om poli ics and media) o use he esul s o he s u-
dy as a ounda ion o u u e p ojec s ee ing decisions. Acco dingly, he me hodological
app oach pu sued he e o e s he possibili y o making ans e and ne wo k ac i i ies o
p ojec conso ia isible in o de o d aw a en ion o he necessa y esou ces o build and
main ain hose. These indings can be aken in o accoun when announcing u he un-
ding p og ammes wi h a simila ocus.
Wi h a iew o u u e p og ammes, he ex en o which eme gen phenomena in luence
he ne wo k o ma ion o he egos du ing he unding pe iod could also be in es iga ed,
e.g. o po en ially iden i y ne wo k pa e ns in e ms o he esponse o he p ojec en i-
onmen o he ac o s in ol ed. To his end, a p ocess-o ien a ed analysis designed as a
466 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
longi udinal s udy wi h di e en ime ho izons up o he end o he p ojec , could p o ide
in o ma ion on he backg ound agains which u he ela ionships (e.g., new social capi al
due o expe ise) a e en e ed in o, i exis ing ela ionships a e e mina ed p ema u ely (e.g.,
due o misuse o us ) o in how a opic ela ed ends a ec he mo i a ion o join new
g oups and ne wo ks. This allows bo h he dynamics o ne wo k o ma ion o be ecognised
and he sus ainabili y o he ne wo ks a e he unding pe iod o be de e mined. Fu u e
esea ch could also in es iga e he ex en o which ne wo k size and p e ious p o essional
p ac ice a ec each o he in de ail. Mo eo e , he ole o o wa d-looking ac o s and inno-
a ions ha a ise wi hin ne wo ks could also be in es iga ed my means o u u e esea ch
p ojec s. The ollowing esea ch ques ions could guide u u e esea ch as a con inua ion o
he p esen s udy:
–To wha ex en do he egocen ic ne wo ks change o e he cou se o he implemen a-
ion o he p ojec ?
–Wha ac o s in luence he in ensi y o he ela ionships be ween ego and al e ?
–To wha ex en is he e a ela ion be ween ne wo k size and p o essional expe ience
om p e ious simila p ojec con ex s?
–Wha o ms o p ojec conso ia a e pa icula ly bene icial o he c ea ion o inno a-
ions wi hin ne wo ks?
Co esponding da a could be collec ed in he o m o pa ial ne wo ks and/o an ex ension
o al e -al e ela ionships in (mul i-pe spec i e) egocen ic ne wo ks. Fo he p esen s u-
dy o he AI Pionee s p ojec , he ela ionships be ween he 10 egos would also be bene icial
o analyse, as well as he esul ing conclusions o in e nal ela ionship managemen wi hin
a conso ium. In acco dance, o example he connec ions be ween Ego 1, Ego 2 and hei
sha ed ela ionships (al e s) could be analysed. Such a me hodical app oach would make
i possible o iden i y changes in he subjec i ely pe cei ed ele ance o he ela ionships
ha migh ha e a long- e m posi i e e ec on he design o he egocen ic ne wo ks and
consequen ly on he success o he p ojec .
Fu he mo e, he indings o his s udy a e based on a small sample size which ne e -
heless p oduced an ex ensi e amoun o quali a i e da a. S a emen s abou a comple e
su ey o all ela ionships wi hin a social sys em would mean eco ding he en i e ne wo k.
Following on om his a icle, he en i e ne wo k o AI Pionee s could be analysed in a
u he empi ical s udy. The ollowing ques ion could guide his: How ex ensi e a e he
whole ne wo k s uc u es o he AI Pionee s p ojec and he in e connec ions be ween al e s?
467
Meyne, Sieme
This quali a i e app oach could be expanded in a ollow-up s udy wi h a quan i a i e ap-
p oach. Acco dingly, he nex s ep could be o de elop a quan i a i e ques ionnai e based
on he heo e ical amewo k used he e, which d aws on comp ehensi e scales in o de o
be able o make alid s a emen s ega ding he o e all ne wo k o AI Pionee s. Such a s udy
could p o ide in o ma ion on he ex en o coope a ion be ween s akeholde s o ins i u ions
in he es ablishmen and expansion o an inno a i e in e na ional ne wo k in he ield o
oca ional educa ion and aining. In his con ex , wi h ega d o he social capi al, i would
also be in e es ing o analyse s ong and weak ela ionships in he ne wo k in mo e de ail, o
example by measu ing cen ali y. I would also be in e es ing o see whe he and how ce ain
cha ac e is ics (nodes o edges) a e ela ed o each o he . Such an app oach would make i
possible o iden i y ela ionship beha iou mo e comp ehensi ely.
In line wi h he s udy's app oach, i should be emphasised ha he app oaches o e-
co ding egocen ic ne wo ks and whole ne wo ks a e no mu ually exclusi e. Bo h me-
hodological app oaches o su ey social ne wo k s uc u es can complemen each o he .
Fo example, esea che s can s a wi h egocen ic ne wo k s udies in o de o unde s and
cen al ac o s and hei ela ionships wi h each o he , and hen ollow up wi h an analysis
o he en i e ne wo k o pa ial sec ions ha go beyond he analysis o indi idual egocen-
ic ne wo ks. In any case, he delimi a ion o he ne wo k is o cen al impo ance, which
is pa icula ly use ul wi h ega d o he in es iga ion o unded collabo a i e p ojec s and
ela ionships ha ha e a isen o a e main ained in he p ojec con ex due o he clea pos-
sibili y o de ining ne wo k bounda ies.
Due o he speci ic amewo k condi ions o he unded AI Pionee s p ojec , i is assumed
ha he ela ionships iden i ied ini ially only apply o he mul iple unique egocen ic ne -
wo ks. I is unclea o wha ex en he ele ance and in ensi y o he ela ionships can be
ans e ed o o he p ojec s. The s udy also does no allow any conclusions o be d awn
abou he connec ion be ween he iden i ied egocen ic ne wo ks and he p obabili y o
success o he AI Pionee s p ojec as a whole.
In conclusion, i can be poin ed ou ha despi e he limi a ions desc ibed, he me hodo-
logical app oach is ui ul due o he combina ion o quali a i e app oaches o analysing
he ins i u ionally ela ed egocen ic ne wo ks om mul iple pe spec i es and he desc ip-
ion o social capi al o he Eu opean p ojec landscape.
Fu he quali a i e and quan i a i e ne wo k analyses would be an en ichmen o VET
esea ch, especially agains he backg ound o inno a ion d i e s and ne wo k o ma ion.
Inno a ion d i e s such as ma ke - ela ed and end- ela ed d i e s o example ega -
ding he echnical de elopmen o AI o ela ed aining p og ammes o e ed by oca ional
aining p o ide s could ha e an impac on he con en dimension o ne wo k o ma ion.
Inc eased demand o he in eg a ion and e hical use o AI in educa ional se ings may lead
o an upswing in he willingness o indi iduals and o ganisa ions o each ou o o he s
468 Mapping Social Capi al in Voca ional Educa ion and T aining
and pa icipa e in opic-speci ic ne wo king ac i i ies. In acco dance, u he analysis o
o wa d-looking and opic-speci ic ne wo k o ma ion p ocesses wi h a iew o he in-
e na ionalisa ion o oca ional educa ion and aining in o de o lea n om each o he
ac oss na ional bo de s would be an en ichmen o in e na ional compa a i e oca ional
educa ion and aining esea ch.
E hicsS a emen
The esea ch p esen ed he e was ca ied ou acco ding o he p inciples o esea ch in ol-
ing he pa icipa ion o human subjec s based on he guidelines desc ibed in IJRVET's e hi-
cal s a emen . The in e iewees consen ed o he collec ion, eco ding and analysis o he
in e iews and he anonymous p esen a ion o he indings.
Acknowledgemen
This a icle is based on he join E asmus+ p ojec "AI and he u u e o Educa ion" (ac o-
nym: AI Pionee s; P ojec numbe : 101087261). The p ojec is unded as pa o he E asmus+
p og am unde he "Fo wa d-Looking-P ojec s". We would pa icula ly like o hank he AI
Pionee s p ojec pa ne s o hei willingness o pa icipa e in his su ey.
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Biog aphicalNo es
Lisa Meyne, M.A., is a doc o a e candida e and a esea ch associa e a he Ins i u e Techno-
logy and Educa ion (ITB) a he Uni e si y o B emen in Ge many. He esea ch in e es s
include he in e na ional ans e o oca ional educa ion and aining (VET) and he com-
plexi y and inno a ion o VET se ices. She also ocuses on he analysis o social ne wo ks in
in e na ional VET con ex s.
D Ch is ine Sieme is a pos doc o al esea che a he Ins i u e Technology and Educa ion
(ITB) a he Uni e si y o B emen in Ge many. He esea ch ocuses on in e na ionalisa ion
and a i icial in elligence in oca ional educa ion and aining. The cu en hemes o he
esea ch a e echnology-enhanced eaching, and ins uc ional design o lea ning en i on-
men s as well as social ne wo k analyses in he con ex o in e na ional VET coope a ions.
