Vocational Curriculum and Pedagogy: An Activity Theory Perspective

Abstract

This article advances a scheme that proposes how curriculum goals and content might be conceptualised for vocational education. The scheme is founded in socio-historical activity theory. An account of the social sources of vocational knowledge (sociogeneses) comprising history, culture and situation is discussed to illuminate how both the canonical requirements of vocational practice and its manifestations in actual practice need to be accounted for in curriculum goals and content. Currently, curriculum frameworks for vocational programmes focus on the sociocultural level of practice (e.g. national competencies, national skills standards). Yet, these fail to account for the actual manifestations and requirements of the vocational practice and how judgements are made about performance. An emphasis on practice as a basis for considering curriculum goals and developing adaptable outcomes is proposed.