Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa: A Social Skills Ecosystem Perspective

by Simon McGrath, George Openjuru Ladaah, Heila Lotz-Sisitka, Stephanie Allais, Jacques Zeelen

Overview

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

The transition to more just and sustainable development requires radical change across a wide range of areas and particularly within the nexus between learning and work.

This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training that goes beyond the narrow focus of much of the current literature and policy debate. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this issue through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups, and in public and private educational institutions.

Offering new insights and ways of thinking about this field, the book draws out clear implications for theory, policy and practice in Africa and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529224634
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	02/07/2023
Series:	Bristol Studies in Comparative and International Education
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Simon McGrath is Professor of Education at the University of Glasgow and Visiting Professor at Nelson Mandela University.

George Openjuru is Vice-Chancellor at Gulu University.

Heila Lotz-Sisitka is Distinguished Professor and NRF-SARChI Chair in Global Change and Social Learning Systems Development at Rhodes University.

Stephanie Allais is NRF-SARChI Chair in Skills Development at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Jacques Zeelen is UNESCO Chair in Lifelong Learning at Gulu Universityand the University of Groningen.

Volker Wedekind is Deputy Head of School and Director of Research Knowledge Exchange at the University of Nottingham.

Presha Ramsarup is Director at REAL Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham.

David Monk is Lecturer at Gulu University.

Luke Metelerkamp is Post-Doctoral Researcher at Rhodes University.

Jo-Anna Russon is Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham.

Bonaventure Kyaligonja is Hoima Campus Director at Gulu University.

Glen Robbins is an independent consultant specialising in spatial development projects.

Scovia Adrupio is Junior Researcher and administrator at Gulu University.

David Ocan is Junior Researcher at Gulu University.

Kenneth Nyeko is Junior Researcher and administrator at Gulu University.

Primo Adoye is Hoima Campus Registrar at Gulu University.

Palesa Molebatsi is a PhD student at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Themba Tshabalala is a PhD student at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Sidney Muhangi is a PhD student at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Maxwell Openjuru is Research Associate at Gulu University, Uganda.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing VET Africa 4.0 - Heila Lotz-Sisitka and Simon McGrath

2. VET and Skills in Africa: A Historical Sociology - Simon McGrath

3. Water, Transport, Oil and Food: A Political–Economy–Ecology Lens on Changing Conceptions of Work, Learning and Skills Development in Africa - Heila Lotz-Sisitka

4. Towards an Expanded Notion of Skills Ecosystems - Presha Ramsarup and Jo-Anna Russon

5. Social Ecosystem for Skills Research: Inclusivity, Relationality and Informality - Luke Metelerkamp and David Monk

6. Vocational Teachers as Mediators in Complex Ecosystems - Jo-Anna Russon and Volker Wedekind

7. Challenges in Transition Processes - Presha Ramsarup and Jo-Anna Russon

8. The Role of the Universityas Mediator in a Skills Ecosystem Approach to VET - Heila Lotz-Sisitka, George Openjuru and Jacques Zeelen

9. Implications for VET Research, Policy and Practice - Simon McGrath

Afterword: Towards a More Just and Sustainable Research Practice - VET Africa 4.0 Collective

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This thoughtful book provides a strong foundation to envision what vocational education and training should look like to help us build a more just, inclusive and sustainable future." Yulia Nesterova, University of Glasgow

"Located within an African context, this book makes a unique empirical contribution by reconceptualizing a VET–work relationship that acknowledges system complexities, and is future-focused and sensitive to ecological and sustainability concerns." Joy Papier, University of the Western Cape

"This edited book on VET ticks the key boxes for students and researchers: critical history; lenses on informal, non-formal and formal learning; valuable periodization of post-independence VET; and crucial comparative data South–South and South–North.” Kenneth King, University of Edinburgh

Editorial Reviews

"This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the future of vocational education and training on the African continent. The book is beautifully written by a team of leading experts on VET in Africa. Rich in empirical evidence and theoretical insight, the book develops an important argument about the urgent need to radically transform VET so as to achieve more sustainable futures on the continent." Leon Tikly, University of Bristol

"This is a thoughtfully detailed and committed edited volume which employs the “social ecosystem for skills” model as a basic foundation for successful transition of vocational education and training in Africa, in the spirit of lifelong learning. Readers in African countries will find this book useful and timely for application in VET institutions." International Review of Education

From the Publisher