Policy Design for Non-anthropocentric Pathways to Protect Biodiversity and Re-generate the Land

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Judy McIntyre-Mills
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
African Renaissance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Suggestions ◽  
Sentient Beings ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
And Training

This article is a thinking exercise to re-imagine some of the principles of a transformational vocational education and training (VET) approach underpinned by participatory democracy and governance, and is drawn from a longer work on an ABC of the principles that could be considered when discussing ways to transform VET for South African learners and teachers. The purpose of this article is to scope out the social, cultural, political, economic and environmental context of VET and to suggest some of the possible ingredients to inspire co-created design. Thus the article is just a set of ideas for possible consideration and as such it makes policy suggestions based on many ways of knowing rooted in a respect for self, others (including sentient beings) and the environment on which we depend. The notion of African Renaissance characterises the mission of a VET approach in South Africa that is accountable to this generation of living systems and the next.

Retention and attrition among National Certificate (Vocational) Civil and Construction students in South African TVET

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Van der Bijl ◽  
Mark Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Student Persistence ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Integration Model ◽  
Student Integration ◽  
And Training

The National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) was introduced into South Africa’s system of vocational training to ‘solve problems of poor quality programmes, lack of relevance to the economy, as well as low technical and cognitive skills of TVET [technical and vocational education and training] graduates’. The NC(V) did not, however, meet expectations, partially because of systemic difficulties. This article reports on research conducted among students who studied on the NC(V) Civil and Construction programme in an effort to identify appropriate corrections that could be made by college management. The research project made use of Tinto’s Student Integration Model to identify reasons for both student attrition and student persistence. The study provides information on the predicament facing TVET Civil and Construction students and has broad relevance for practitioners operating in higher and post-school education.

scholarly journals The Role of Vocational Education and Training in the Integration of Refugees in Austria, Denmark and Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-299
Author(s):  
Christian Helms Jørgensen ◽  
Hannes Hautz ◽  
Junmin Li
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Education ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Language Training ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Training

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) plays a crucial role in the social inclusion of refugees. The aim of this paper is to examine how the VET systems of Austria, Denmark and Germany responded to the arrival of young refugees since 2015. VET in these countries are all categorised as systems of collective skill formation, which offer apprenticeships in addition to school-based training. The article examines and juxtaposes the legal rights, the actual opportunities and the barriers to refugees’ participation in and completion of VET at upper secondary level in the three selected countries.Methods: The study is based on reviews of literature and an analysis of refugee policies in the three countries. The literature search used a snowballing strategy and included policy documents, research publications and grey literature from organisations of civil society. The literature review employed a narrative, issue-focused approach to explore and compare key categories relating to the research question. To elaborate, refine and structure the categories for each of the three countries we used an input-process-output model (Adams, 1993) and a combination of deductive and inductive analysis procedure.Findings: The findings of the study are divided into six categories that structure the analysis: admission requirements, validation of prior learning, vocational guidance, language training, social support measures and access to apprenticeships. The analysis finds that both asylum seekers and recognised refugees have more opportunities in Germany than in the other two countries regarding the key categories. The findings show no major differences in the position of the social partners in the three countries in relation to refugees’ participation in VET, however the national governments reacted differently to the influx of refugees. In Austria and Denmark, new governments with strong anti-immigration agendas took office and reduced the access to and participation in VET for asylum seekers and refugees. At the same time, the German government introduced various integration measures for refugees in cooperation with employers with the aim of making VET more accessible to refugees.Conclusion: To access and complete VET, refugees depend on supporting measures to overcome a variety of barriers, e.g. regarding language training and access to apprenticeships. Overall, reforms in Germany demonstrate promising initiatives to overcome the barriers to the integration of refugees in VET, while reforms in Austria and Denmark have limited refugees’ opportunities to access and complete VET.

Decolonisation and South African TVET: A Different Missing Middle

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Nicole Anthonie
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
Missing Middle ◽  
And Training

This paper explores the South African Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in relation to calls for decolonisation that have emanated from higher education institutions (universities) and basic education institutions (schools). Both the public and the academic community have echoed these institutions’ calls for transformation through protests and articles in academic journals and the popular media. Apart from two articles in the popular media the silence on decolonisation and TVET has been deafening. A key phrase during the #FeesMustFall protests was “the missing middle,” referring to those students who were too rich for NSFAS bursaries but too poor to afford university fees. I argue that the TVET sector is a different missing middle in that it is missing from debates about decolonising education in South Africa. Through a document analysis of TVET related legislation, I argue that it is too “high” for basic education and too “low” for higher education. By drawing on Jan Blommaert’s notion of “voice” and Gayatri Spivak’s notion of “the subaltern,” the paper considers why there has been such silence on decolonising the TVET sector.

Nature and Dynamics of Industry-Based Workplace Learning for South African TVET Lecturers

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-108
Author(s):  
Andre van der Bijl ◽  
Vanessa Taylor
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Vocational Education And Training ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Workplace Experience ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
International Knowledge ◽  
And Training

This article reports on the findings of an industry workplace experience project involving lecturers in South Africa's technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, against the backdrop of new legislation and the realization that college lecturers' industry-related skills are in question. Its focus is on the nature of TVET lecturer industry-based workplace learning and the internal dynamics of its implementation in the college and employer systems. The article provides background on workplace-based learning for TVET lecturers and contrasts this form of workplace learning with forms used for students. After providing a critical analysis of methods used to theorize workplace-based learning, a model is employed to describe and analyse lecturers' experiences, with the aim of informing national and international knowledge and practice. The study supports the argument that workplace-based learning for TVET lecturers is not the same as for students. While students are exposed to workplaces to provide them with orientation and initial skills for future careers, workplace-based learning for lecturers is designed to improve knowledge development competencies. TVET lecturers undertake workplace-based learning to improve their knowledge of practice and so improve their theorization and teaching skills. The article points to the need for further research on and theorizing of industry-based workplace learning for lecturers.

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