4.2 Critical Realism
4.2.5 Bhaskar’s laminations of reality
In this section, Bhaskar’s laminations of reality and its mediating system of position-practice system are presented. Bhaskar (2010) presents reality as laminated based on the notion of a scalar reality (Price, 2014). These laminations of reality were applied to explain social phenomenon in interdisciplinary studies. The laminated reality was motivated by the view that basing reality on facts or empirical ‘facts’ does not project the full picture of what happens in a particular situation. Hence, Bhaskar argues for going beyond the observable patterns to focus on the ‘transfactual’ or underlying structures and mechanisms (Price, 2014). According to Bhaskar (2010) the laminated system allows for interpreting the emergence of the agency and patterns of dependency and interdependency of social realities at different levels. These social structures at
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different levels are continuously being reproduced and transformed through contact between human agency and social structures by individuals acting in those positions- what Bhaskar refers to as position-practice system (Agbedahin & Lotz-Sisitka, 2019; Bhaskar, 2010).
Bhaskar applied his model of seven laminations on gender equality in South Africa as well as
‘blood diamonds’ in Zimbabwe. Both studies revealed that what is usually considered reified facts were actually contrary to the experiences of people on the ground. This is because of the stratified nature of open system of society which requires interdisciplinarity to fully explore rather than confining reality to the empirical. In a recent study (Agbedahin & Lotz-Sisitka, 2019) applied Bhaskar’s seven scalar laminations to education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education in Zambia. Figure 3 below presents Bhaskar’s seven laminations of social phenomena.
Figure 3: Bhaskar’s seven laminations explaining social phenomena.
Source: Price (2014, p. 64)
Bhaskar’s laminations assist in understanding complex situations by breaking them down into components. The laminations are closely related, with higher order ones being emergent from, but nevertheless also shaping, constraining and enabling lower order ones (Price, 2014). The
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relationship of these seven laminations is represented by the two arrows, one pointing towards the peak of the triangle and the other pointing downwards. Hence, these laminations must be looked at relationally rather than individually. The laminations are arranged based on the size of the units of analysis, rather than on their importance. Bhaskar’s seven laminations illustrated in the figure above are briefly explained below. The presentation will start from the biggest unit of analysis (lamination seven) going downwards.
4.2.5.1 Lamination seven: Planetary- Cosmological level
This layer focuses on the influence of globalisation on the activities in local structures. In the majority of cases, the local policies are directly influenced by the global policies, for example, SDGs. Agbedahin and Lotz-Sisitka (2019) in their study on ESD, note that at the global level for example, the highest lamination is concerned with the global environment and sustainability issues such as climate change and food insecurity, among others. These challenges are a result of activities of humans in the lower laminated levels. Players at the global level such as the United Nations agencies conceptualise the responses to these challenges and risks coming up with policy responses such as SDGs.
4.2.5.2 Lamination six: Mega-level- Regional issues
This layer considers how special characteristics of society are affected by their geographical and historical specificities. At this level, focus is at continent level, for example, Africa in recognition of peculiarities of each continent (Agbedahin & Lotz-Sisitka, 2019). For example, though climate change affects all continents, it is more prevalent in some continents than others.
As such, even approaches to deal with such problems may be continent and country specific.
Examples of regional bodies that make policies include the African Union and the European Union.
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4.2.5.3 Lamination five: macro-level – Sub-regional and national
This layer considers how the whole society is constituted. It includes socio-economic conditions as well as relations among racial and ethnic groups in a society (Price, 2014). Sub-regional bodies include, for example, SADC. These bodies influence policy making at national levels.
Within particular countries, there are also variations in structures of the economy as well as both the physical and social environment. For example, how the ecological classification of Masvingo Province affects agricultural practices within the province. Another important feature is the historically racialised education system in colonial Zimbabwe and its influence on agriculture curriculum responsiveness.
4.2.5.4 Lamination four: meso-level- Institutional environment
This layer gives structural explanations for characteristics exhibited in the lower three layers, for example, how structural conditions such as gender affect the distribution of women in smallholder practices and their participation in agricultural learning. This level also includes institutional structures and other bodies within higher education such as the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology Development and its arms such as HEXCO and CRADU which shape, control and influence institutional operations and policies in relation to VET curriculum change. The activities of the players in this lamination are influenced and shaped by those of the regional, continental and global bodies (Agbedahin & Lotz-Sisitka, 2019; Price, 2014). For example, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, CESA, and SADC’s policy on TVET.
4.2.5.5 Lamination three: micro-level- human ‘face to face’ interaction
This layer of reality is often studied by researchers who focus on interactions between individuals. Examples of such research includes interactionism, ethno methodology and discourse analysis (Price, 2014). The use of language is important in this layer. This lamination is concerned with, for example, the interaction of VET lecturers, students, principals and officials. In this case, power relations play out, which either enable or constrain curriculum responsiveness.
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4.2.5.6 Lamination two: Individual material circumstances
This layer focuses on demographic details, for example, poverty and economic situation as education of individuals and its influence on behaviour. For example, a person with bad experiences in childhood as indicated in lamination one, may be influenced by affluence not to engage in undesirable behaviour (Price, 2014). Agbedahin and Lotz-Sisitka (2019) added other contextual factors to include professional qualifications, experience and disciplinary expertise as enabling or constraining a person’s state of mind. When applied to this study, this lamination can enable or constrain VET curriculum responsiveness.
4.2.5.7 Lamination one: Psychology of individuals
This layer includes aspects of an individual’s personality, their conscious and unconscious motivation, often an area of study by psychologists and psychotherapists (Price, 2014) . This lamination notes the importance of early childhood experience on the behavior of the child in adulthood. This layer depicts personal identities, desires and interests of participants which affect their response to features of other higher laminations (Agbedahin & Lotz-Sisitka, 2019;
Price, 2014). For example, in this study, desires of VET learners, teachers, managers/ principals and officials affect curriculum responsiveness.