Transforming TVET governance – the case of Ecuador

Written from the practitioners’ perspective, this paper examines the reform of secondary technical education (STE) in Ecuador – a reform that is embedded in the broader political agenda of Buen Vivir, the Ecuadorian... [ view full abstract ]

Written from the practitioners’ perspective, this paper examines the reform of secondary technical education (STE) in Ecuador – a reform that is embedded in the broader political agenda of Buen Vivir, the Ecuadorian government’s answer to mainstream sustainable development discourse. As a touchstone to “test” the STE reform, the paper uses the conceptual framework that emerged from the 2012 Third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and specifically the metaphor of the three lenses for analyzing and guiding the transformation of TVET systems recently developed in Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Marope et al., 2015).
The authors agree with Marope et al. (2015) that in the long term the governance of TVET transformation towards sustainable human development may be even more important than the content of the reforms. Hence, particular attention is paid to the recent process of STE policy formulation and implementation as a means to understand how TVET governance is changing in Ecuador. The paper notes concerted efforts to improve the evidence base, involve stakeholders in policy development and expand partnerships for implementation as noteworthy features of the policy process. However, it also shows that from the early stages onwards, there has been a tendency to narrow down the Buen Vivir agenda to a predominantly economic narrative. To ensure this is balanced with equity and environmental sustainability concerns, the paper calls for a further broadening of stakeholder participation and the creation of new types of partnerships.