In the eye of a storm: Contests over TVET teacher education in South Africa

Vocational education and training has gained in prominence within the South African educational and development policy discourse. South Africa's policy pronouncements, whilst seldom referring to international commitments such... [ view full abstract ]

Vocational education and training has gained in prominence within the South African educational and development policy discourse. South Africa's policy pronouncements, whilst seldom referring to international commitments such as the SDGs, nevertheless is committed to many of the same goals. The TVET colleges and the new Community Colleges are seen as a key vehicle for achieving economic and social targets. These include addressing reported critical skills shortages in the formal economy, accommodating increasing numbers of unemployed youth who are outside the schools system and offering them opportunities for employment or self-sustainability, and supporting social and economic commitments such as the development of the Green Economy and other sustainability goals. At the centre of these institutions are the teachers that are expected to deliver the programmes and support the learning of the diverse groups of students. However, these lecturers are themselves products of a system that had very different purposes, and they need support. This paper examines the policy interventions and initiatives to support the lecturers as they try to navigate the competing imperatives placed on the colleges, and traces those through to the level of the classrooms, workshops and workplaces. It draws on both administrative data from state agencies, direct involvement in policy initiatives, evaluations of interventions and classroom based research in TVET colleges to understand how the competing imperatives play themselves out and what this may mean for new teacher education programmes aimed at in-service and pre-service teachers. The paper concludes by reflecting on whether the colleges as institutions and by extension TVET teacher education programmes are able to accommodate the divergent expectations being placed on the system and discusses options for ensuring a focused, effective and sustainable system by narrowing rather than broadening the focus of the system.