WHEN IS FORMATION PROFESSIONAL?
ROME: 22nd October '04 -- There is a peculiar difficulty that arises with the term formation in Salesian discourse, stemming from differing conceptual ‘thicknesses’ of the term in Italian and English. In English, the term is readily employable in a religious sense, and though in theory quite applicable in other contexts, in practice such applications are more likely to head for the military or into geology or biology, than towards religion. In Italian, the term formazione is equally employable in both a secular and religious context. Italy’s most recent education legislation, the Sistema educativo di istruzione e di formazione (The Education System - instruction and formation L. n.53/03), gives one a clear idea of the kind of company that formazione sometimes keeps!
Given that formazione appears more than 3,000 times across some 200 plus Salesian official texts, and that its distribution is across 83% of these texts, it is a key term, with little doubt through its association with iniziale (initial) andpermanente (ongoing or continuous) that it is the formation of the Religious as Salesian that is under consideration. But there are occasions even here when its English equivalent is education rather than formation and when the context is as much secular as it is religious. We already begin to sense this with formazione intelletuale (R. 82). Intellectual formation is a valid English gloss, but we immediately begin to think of this kind of formation being achieved through education. Outside the Salesian context, if one refers to formazione permanente, the best rendering in English would usually be lifelong education or continuing education (as in the case of opportunities for adults to keep learning throughout adult life).
The core meaning of formazione, as we apply it either to the development of a Salesian Religious or to education, schooling, appears to be that of planned, integral human development. Nothing less! Formazione is a concept with an end in mind, that can keep education, schooling, focused. It really is a ‘thick’ word-programme concept in Italian.
What, then, of formazione professionale? Here the translator has a double challenge – will it be formation and will it be professional? The short answer is no, and no. Consider the kind of company that professionale keeps. Scuola(school), qualificazione (qualification – in reference to gaining skills, getting a diploma), competenze (competencies). The easiest English gloss for formazione professionale would be technical education, though this is not ‘technically’ accurate. If we go back to GC21 we see the proper context for the term: what characterizes the Salesian school is that it is a school for work, it prepara con la formazione professionale d’avviamento al lavoro i giovani apprendisti ad entrare nel mondo del lavoro con una loro qualifica (131, 2.6.1), it readies young apprentices for the working world through vocational formation which gives them, we might say a ‘piece of paper’, but we also mean the precise skills required. All Salesian education and schooling is meant to provide this, not just the so-called technical school.
It helps to recall Salesian history, especially that of the Oratory. Don Bosco faced up to a double reality – the first young lads for whom he needed to offer lodgings and assistance with vocational training, initially outside but quickly made room for within the Oratory setting by means of workshops and Salesians whom he called coadiutori or coadiuvanti to direct them; and those boys who wanted to improve their educational lot generally and go on to further academic studies. This latter group soon surpassed the former in numbers, giving rise to the rapid growth in boarding schools (collegi) in the Salesian Society and not a few problems at the Oratory itself! It was all about formazione. Don Bosco’s ultimate aim was both the honest citizen and the good Christian, readiness for the world around and eternal life to come. By the time he died he had left the Salesian Society with a model of schooling (Valdocco), an educational project (laid out in the document from GC4), some principles of organisation (Regulations for the workshops) and a superior in his top-level administration (Consigliere professionale) whose role was to oversee the ‘readiness for the working world’ aspect of Salesian education.
