Posthumanist Insights into the Adoption of Diffusion Dynamics in Vocational Education and Workforce Transformation

Ranjini S Nadig; Tanu Shukla; Virendra Singh Nirban

doi:10.63332/joph.v5i7.2872

Authors

Ranjini S Nadig Research Scholar, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan, India
Tanu Shukla Associate Professor, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan, India
Virendra Singh Nirban Professor, Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63332/joph.v5i7.2872

Keywords:

Anthropocentric, Diffusion Dynamics, Vocational Education, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Labour Market

Abstract

Vocational education operates within dynamic socio-technical assemblages shaped by rapid technological shifts, algorithmic governance, and evolving labour market demands. Traditional, anthropocentric models of diffusion fail to account for the distributed agency across human and non-human actors. A posthumanist reconceptualization of diffusion dynamics reveals innovation as a relational, emergent process shaped by intra-actions among learners, technologies, institutional logics, and digital infrastructures. Through the development and validation of the Academia-Industry Diffusion Dynamics Scale, three key dimensions of capability: Effective Utilisation of Resources, Sensing Capabilities, and Innovativeness, are identified. These dimensions reflect how vocational institutions adapt through entangled processes rather than linear decision-making. Factor analysis confirms the co-constitutive nature of capability formation, highlighting how institutions do not merely implement innovations but are reconfigured through them. Posthumanist theory thus offers a critical framework for understanding diffusion as an ontological transformation, positioning vocational education as a site of continuous reassembly within complex human–non-human ecosystems.