Technical And Vocational Education And Training Sector Research Articles

Design and Development of a Multimedia Reading Application for Pre-schoolers as a Foundation in the Area of TVET

The greatest time for this is during early childhood schooling, when children are just beginning to become aware of their job options and form an imagination about the careers, they are interested in. In order to prepare pre-schoolers for their future employment, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) aims to expand their knowledge and skill sets. Technology development also aids in these preschool students' knowledge and skill development in preparation for their future employment, particularly in TVET. At this preschool stage, their reading skills is essential for learning the TVET sector since it aids in their understanding of the subject that piques their interest. Yet, there are a number of reasons why they can struggle to read, including a lack of prior book experience, speech or hearing problems, and a lack of phonemic awareness. This design and development research (DDR) methodology was chosen to assist pre-schoolers in learning to read as a foundational skill in the field of TVET. The researcher focused on the development of multimedia applications for the teaching and learning process using a quantitative approach through ADDIE Model instructional design. The researcher used a random sampling technique to select three academic staff members with the required TVET educational credentials. This sample includes two academics with experience and skill in multimedia creation, as well as a preschool teacher from an appropriate educational institution, so the feedback gained is adequate to obtain precise comments and points of view. Data were acquired and assessed using frequency and percentage values based on a checklist form that was given. To facilitate data analysis, each item is categorised, and frequency information is quantified as a percentage. Professionals who believe that this multimedia application is useful as one of the self-learning mediums have responded favourably to the study's findings about how this multimedia application functions in terms of assisting pre-schoolers in learning to read from the aspects of content design, interaction, and interface. The study's conclusions can be used as a guide by anyone, especially when it comes to encouraging pre-schoolers’ TVET growth.

Status of Instructional Leadership Practices in Botswana's Public Technical and Vocational Education and Training: A Case of Brigades

This qualitative multi-case study explores instructional leadership practices at Botswana's brigades, a key provider of semi-skilled Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes. This study investigated the perspectives of instructional leaders and lecturers at two institutions in the Southern District to understand their experiences with leadership practices. Drawing on Hallinger and Murphy's (1985) framework, this research examines how instructional leadership unfolds within brigades, focusing on defining the mission, managing curriculum and instruction, and fostering a positive learning environment. Furthermore, it explores the collaborative practices of the leadership team, including principals, deputy principals, and department heads. The findings reveal a general understanding of instructional leadership among participants, with some evidence of practices, such as curriculum management and stakeholder involvement. However, concerns have been raised regarding communication gaps, limited shared leadership, and ineffective evaluation. The study also identified essential competencies for instructional leaders, including communication, planning, and resource management. Key challenges include information overload, resource shortage, and staff training gaps. The participants suggested strategies for improvement, emphasizing streamlined expectations, consistent monitoring, leadership development, and adequate resourcing. Overall, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of instructional leadership in Botswana's TVET sector and provides insights for enhancing programme quality and graduate employability.

Exploring online teaching and learning challenges for the technical and vocational education and training lecturer

This paper explored the challenges lecturers face in teaching through online platforms. Online learning has become increasingly prevalent in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, offering opportunities and challenges for TVET lecturers. The transition from traditional face-to-face teaching to online environments requires lecturers to adapt to the new teaching methods, design engaging content, and navigate digital platforms. The qualitative research gathered data from 35 lecturers out of 60 conveniently and purposefully selected from five engineering campuses at a South African TVET college. Participants were accessible to the researcher and possessed online teaching experiences. Participant observation was used as a data-gathering tool. The study attempts to answer the question: What challenges are lecturers facing during online teaching and learning? The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework for Teacher Knowledge by Koehler and Mishra guided the study. Data were analysed thematically from the identified patterns and themes. The findings revealed technical difficulties like connectivity and software glitches, which disrupted the teaching and learning process. Lecturers grappled with receiving practical online support. The limited interaction and collaboration among students in virtual settings posed additional challenges in maintaining engagement and addressing individual learning needs. Furthermore, access and equity issues hindered students' ability to participate fully due to inadequate technology, internet access, and power outages. To overcome these challenges, the study recommended lecturers continuous professional development in online learning methods and technologies. Addressing the challenges contributes to the successful implementation of online learning in the TVET sector by ensuring quality education and enhancing students' skills and competencies.

Quality Assurance in West African TVET Institutions: A Brief Literature Review

The study reviews the role of quality assurance in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems in supporting economic development, enhancing labor market competitiveness, and meeting industry expectations. The authors use a desk research strategy, focusing on document review and qualitative content analysis to analyze credible reports on the role of quality assurance in TVET to promote competent workforce. As per findings, quality assurance in TVET institutions is crucial to ensuring that graduates possess the necessary skills and competencies for the workforce, reducing skills gaps and enhancing employability. It aligns TVET programs with industry standards, enabling graduates to contribute effectively to the workforce. Quality assurance mechanisms also enhance the credibility and reputation of TVET institutions, increasing their attractiveness to students and employers. It helps produce highly skilled individuals, contributing to the country’s economic development and global competitiveness. However, the TVET sector in West Africa faces several challenges, including inadequate infrastructures, curriculum relevance, teaching and learning quality, limited industry collaboration, and lack of quality assurance mechanisms. To address these issues, the authors suggest some innovative dimensions of quality standards to strengthen and improve quality assurance in TVET institutions. These quality standards include leadership, governance, management, physical environment, human resources, curriculum, student participation, access, equity, career guidance, financial management, program evaluation, research, innovation and development. All of these are interrelated, thereby spurring the overall quality and effectiveness of TVET programs and institutions.

Building Resilience and Mitigating Impacts of Uncertainties in Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Kenya

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has emerged as an avenue through which Kenya aims to fast track her ambition for upper-middle-income economy status, together with the realization of the Big 4 Agenda. However, like other sectors, the TVET sector has shown its vulnerability to sudden and disruptive events manifested by the inability to conduct online training in the wake of the novel Covid-19 pandemic. Such vulnerability has necessitated the need for TVETs to embrace change in training to build resilience in TVET institutions. The Leagile framework has proven to be a stochastic dynamic decision-making tool to handle excursion events in the modern supply chain occasioned by uncertain and turbulent markets. The article adopts a self-completion survey via SMS that targets TVET trainers drawn from TVET institutions in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. Data is collected using a structured questionnaire administered via SMS. The multiple regressions analysis results confirm that Leagile pedagogy positively and significantly influences resilience building.

How do South African TVET lecturers rate their digital competencies, and what is their need for training for a digital transformation in the South African TVET sector?

Digital-transformation processes pose many challenges for South African technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. In addition to improving infrastructure, lecturers must be equipped with new knowledge and skills to face the challenges in 21st-century classrooms and workforces. Based on the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) model, this study investigated the ways in which TVET lecturers (n = 364) self-assess their competence in digital teaching and learning, and the kind of additional training or support that they need to increase the effectiveness of their digital teaching. The findings suggest that the lecturers’ self-assessments of their digital-related knowledge are generally high. In addition, the sub-dimensions of TPACK differ significantly according to the educational background of a lecturer. Those with a regular teacher education rate their TPACK abilities higher than those who have only subject-specific training or a pedagogical education. Nevertheless, analysis of the qualitative data shows that TVET lecturers need extensive support in planning effective technology-enhanced lessons, including the creation of educational content.

The development of green skills for the informal sector of Ghana: towards sustainable futures

ABSTRACT Informed by the capability approach and critical discourse analysis, this article examines how the development of green skills among master craftspersons and apprentices in the informal sector of Ghana could be promoted for cleaner production and sustainable futures. The findings show that inequality and poverty; cyclical policy trap; sectoral green initiatives and the green coordination gap; and limited human resource capacity including uncoordinated informal learning approaches serve to constrain the development of green skills among master craftspersons and apprentices in the informal sector of Ghana. To address these challenges, the current study proposes the development of a framework that (1) harmonises the different sectoral initiatives and strategies on green skills to avoid the cyclical policy trap; (2) expands the current green Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) agenda to include green skills development for individuals in the informal TVET sector; (3) closes the coordination gap in government green initiatives by creating an agency responsible for national green agenda; and (4) creates clear qualification models and strategies for the development of green skills in the informal sector.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Federal Nepal: A Critical Analysis

The technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Nepal is one of the much discussed agenda for its contribution to socio-economic development of the country. Historically, Nepal’s TVET system is striving for being innovative and compatible with the global trends. With the Nepal’s Constitution 2015, it has received a considerable attention, as the Constitution (in article 51, h, 1) highlights the notion of TVET along with the allocation of TVET responsibilities to all three tiers of government. However, due to differing understanding among the policy makers, including existing several issues and concerns, the development of TVET sector in Nepal has been slow off the mark. Yet, Nepal has many opportunities for reforming the TVET sector in the coming days. There is an urgent need of paradigm shift in action, thoughts and visions in line with the Constitution to harness the benefit of TVET sector - to achieve the goal of socio-economic prosperity of the country.

Bridging the skills gap in TVET: a study on private-public development partnership in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT The nature of global labor markets places new demands on the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in developing countries. Capacity building programs have become a strategy for governments to increase the standard of TVET. The aim of this article is to analyze conditions for the formation of an intended and enacted curriculum within the framework of an Ethiopian Private-Public Development Partnership (PPDP) in the TVET sector. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. The results indicate that the curriculum was geared toward the needs and interests of those industries involved in the PPDP and that greater emphasis was put on developing the intended curriculum than considering situational and contextual (im)possibilities for its enactment. A future consideration when developing curriculum for such a program may be to involve a more diverse group of local actors.

An examination of the English curriculum in Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges

This article is premised on the notion that the perceived lack of quality of curriculum delivery in the vocational education sector is probably due in part to a lack of understanding of the nature of knowledge in vocational education. The article outlines the nature of knowledge specified in the subject English offered in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The study followed the English curriculum message as it starts from the production field, where new ideas are created and modified to the recontextualisation field, where curriculum designers produce written curriculum documents. The findings indicate that the designers of the National Certificate (Vocational) English curriculum followed an outcomes-based approach in its design but that the content knowledge indicated is vague and unspecified. The curriculum cannot provide a basis against which content knowledge can be selected, as it does not give prominence to grounded content knowledge of the subject. Instead, it is more concerned with the competencies of the students. An analysis of this curriculum identifies its strengths and weaknesses and helps to identify gaps in the curriculum design in at least one curriculum in the TVET sector.

A Preliminary Approach toward Development of the TVET Research and Development (R & D) Sector for Sustainable Development in Myanmar

The research and innovation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) are crucial in helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. However, most developing countries including Myanmar fail to systematically collect information on TVET, and research in TVET is regarded as a neglected area. Therefore, the aim of the study is to take a preliminary approach toward the development of the TVET research and development (R & D) sector in Myanmar by highlighting the insights on how to initiate and promote TVET research and innovation in the country. To achieve the aim, the study conducted a literature review, a need analysis of the TVET R & D sector of the country and a contextual analysis of the focal TVET organization, and it identified the best practices from other countries. The drive to develop a concept of the TVET R & D sector in the country highlighted the need for the TVET sector development through R & D. Regarding the findings from the SWOT analysis, the focal TVET organization has to apply the suggested strategies including development of a R & D framework, training of the researchers, networking and cooperation to develop the TVET R & D sector in the country. Finally, a preliminary approach toward the TVET R & D sector development of Myanmar was taken for the sustainable development of the country.

STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING LEVEL OF ONLINE TEACHING IN THE TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (TVET) SECTOR

Although online education is not a recently emerged concept, the popularity of the concept has been boosted with the pandemic COVID-19, where the students have to depend totally on online education and they have been framed in it forcefully irrespective of the fact whether online education suits all type of education, especially for the sectors where the practicality is given the priority such as in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. Therefore, there arises a need to investigate the understanding level of the students. The objectives of this research are to identify the students’ understanding level of online teaching and to evaluate the relationship between the understanding level of students and online teaching methods. The population of the study was all the students in the TVET sector in Sri Lanka and the sample was 294 students from 6 university colleges. Structured questionnaires were distributed among the sample for data collection. Descriptive analysis and correlation analysis were employed in the data analysis. The results discovered that a majority of students understand the online theoretical lecture delivery but they lack infrastructure facilities to engage in the academic activities. There is a low level of understanding of practical lessons. Moreover, the results visualize a moderate positive relationship between the students’ understanding level and online teaching methods. The researchers suggested that online teaching can be used for theory lectures in critical situations such as disasters but for the practical sessions, the student should physically be present to the field. Efficient strategies relevant to each type of professional qualification provided by the institutes should be implemented.

“Some of them are afraid of the language”: Perceptions of TVET college staff about the relationship between English language proficiency and academic performance among Engineering students

Despite the fact that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are seen as instrumental in addressing South Africa’s labour market skills shortages and high youth unemployment rate, the extremely low throughput and certification rates at these institutions prevent colleges from achieving this goal. The vast majority of students enrolled at TVET colleges come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and speak English as a second or additional language, yet English is the language through which teaching is conducted at all South African TVET colleges. Prior research has shown that there is a definite relationship between poor academic performance (AP) and learning in an additional language. Existing research of this nature has focused on schools and universities, but there is a dearth of research about the relationship between AP and English Language Proficiency (ELP) in the TVET sector. In order to address this gap, a mixed method study was conducted at one Eastern Cape TVET College to investigate whether the poor AP of National Vocational Certificate (NC (V)) Level 2 Engineering students can be related to their ELP. The initial quantitative phase of the study confirmed prior research by showing that NC (V) students’ ELP is indeed significantly associated with their throughput rate and their performance in each specific subject. This article reports in particular on the second qualitative phase of the study, which was based on interviews with TVET college staff involved in teaching Engineering students. The most significant finding is that teaching staff, who daily work at the proverbial coal face of TVET training, are from their practical experience, very well aware of the fact that there is a crucial link between the ELP and AP of their students, that they employ a variety of strategies to address associated problems, but that they feel these are often insufficient and ineffective in the face of students trying to learn in a second language. This study extends the research about the role of language as a cognitive tool in learning in the Engineering disciplines. It also provides an opportunity to rethink the hegemonic, normalised position of English in Engineering studies and consider possibilities to mobilise indigenous languages as resources for epistemological access in higher education.

Perceptions of staff and students about the NC(V) model of workplace Engineering artisan training offered by South African TVET colleges

Vocational training is a contentious issue in South Africa, where large per centages are regularly cited for unemployment statistics, and in particular for youth and post-school unemployment. Vocational study programmes at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are often seen as one possible remedy to these problems. The Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) long-term objective is to increase the number of learners that will qualify as artisans, which represent a major scarce/critical skills area in South Africa. However, the throughput and certification rates of TVET students are disconcertingly low, with National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) Engineering courses regularly cited as having some of the lowest rates. This article reports on a small research study on the perceptions of TVET staff and students about NC(V) Engineering programmes, conducted at two TVET colleges in South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data from NC(V) Engineering students and lecturers. The most important findings of the study include that there is a critical collaboration gap between industry and the TVET sector and that both NC(V) staff and students experience the need for addressing the (im)balance of time spent on practical versus theoretical training as part of NC(V) programmes. A clear understanding of the perceptions and concerns of TVET NC(V) Engineering lecturers and students may assist in addressing issues locally, at individual TVET colleges, and globally, at national policy and Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) level, that could in future serve to contribute to improved academic performance, including higher throughput and certification rates, of NC(V) Engineering students.

Perceptions of staff and students about the NC(V) model of workplace Engineering artisan training offered by South African TVET colleges

Vocational training is a contentious issue in South Africa, where large per centages are regularly cited for unemployment statistics, and in particular for youth and post-school unemployment. Vocational study programmes at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are often seen as one possible remedy to these problems. The Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) long-term objective is to increase the number of learners that will qualify as artisans, which represent a major scarce/critical skills area in South Africa. However, the throughput and certification rates of TVET students are disconcertingly low, with National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) Engineering courses regularly cited as having some of the lowest rates. This article reports on a small research study on the perceptions of TVET staff and students about NC(V) Engineering programmes, conducted at two TVET colleges in South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data from NC(V) Engineering students and lecturers. The most important findings of the study include that there is a critical collaboration gap between industry and the TVET sector and that both NC(V) staff and students experience the need for addressing the (im)balance of time spent on practical versus theoretical training as part of NC(V) programmes. A clear understanding of the perceptions and concerns of TVET NC(V) Engineering lecturers and students may assist in addressing issues locally, at individual TVET colleges, and globally, at national policy and Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) level, that could in future serve to contribute to improved academic performance, including higher throughput and certification rates, of NC(V) Engineering students.

“Some of them are afraid of the language”: Perceptions of TVET college staff about the relationship between English language proficiency and academic performance among Engineering students

Despite the fact that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are seen as instrumental in addressing South Africa’s labour market skills shortages and high youth unemployment rate, the extremely low throughput and certification rates at these institutions prevent colleges from achieving this goal. The vast majority of students enrolled at TVET colleges come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and speak English as a second or additional language, yet English is the language through which teaching is conducted at all South African TVET colleges. Prior research has shown that there is a definite relationship between poor academic performance (AP) and learning in an additional language. Existing research of this nature has focused on schools and universities, but there is a dearth of research about the relationship between AP and English Language Proficiency (ELP) in the TVET sector. In order to address this gap, a mixed method study was conducted at one Eastern Cape TVET College to investigate whether the poor AP of National Vocational Certificate (NC (V)) Level 2 Engineering students can be related to their ELP. The initial quantitative phase of the study confirmed prior research by showing that NC (V) students’ ELP is indeed significantly associated with their throughput rate and their performance in each specific subject. This article reports in particular on the second qualitative phase of the study, which was based on interviews with TVET college staff involved in teaching Engineering students. The most significant finding is that teaching staff, who daily work at the proverbial coal face of TVET training, are from their practical experience, very well aware of the fact that there is a crucial link between the ELP and AP of their students, that they employ a variety of strategies to address associated problems, but that they feel these are often insufficient and ineffective in the face of students trying to learn in a second language. This study extends the research about the role of language as a cognitive tool in learning in the Engineering disciplines. It also provides an opportunity to rethink the hegemonic, normalised position of English in Engineering studies and consider possibilities to mobilise indigenous languages as resources for epistemological access in higher education.

Teaching Strategies Employed by Teachers in teaching Skills to Students of Vocational Training Institutes of Punjab Pakistan

Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to explore the teaching strategies employed by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teachers in Vocational Training Institutes (VTIs) established by Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC) Pakistan
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The population of the study was all 2423 teachers working in Vocational training Institutes (VTIs) of Punjab Vocational Training Council (PVTC). The sample of the study was 130 (males =69 and females= 61) teachers which were randomly selected from VTIs of PVTC. The instrument of the study was a self-developed and validated questionnaire, having the reliability of 0.87 (Cronbach Alpha). Data were collected personally and by post. Collected data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. ANOVA and Independent sample t-test were used to observe the differences in the responses of teachers related to their age, gender, experience, zones, professional qualification, and trainings.
 Findings: The results of the study indicated that teachers were facing a lot of problems during teaching to TVET students like overcrowded classrooms, unavailability of equipment, lack of trainings and insufficient staff.
 Implications/Originality/Value: The present study helps the authorities of TVET and Punjab Vocational Training Council by giving recommendations in the improvement and reformation of the current condition of TVET sector in Pakistan.

A Pilot Study of Brand Loyalty in Generation Y of Technical and Vocational Education Training Colleges

Objective - In an increasingly changing and dynamic South African higher education landscape, institutions must communicate their brand to stakeholders to perceive the institution as offering quality services,to have a loyal stakeholder. However, thereseemsto be little attention devoted to the influence of brand communication, brand satisfaction and service quality on brand loyalty in higher education, particularly in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. Considering this view, and noting that prior research on brand loyalty in the service sector has shown a connection between brand communication, service quality, brand satisfaction and brand loyalty, it is unknown if a similar correlation is found in the South African TVET sector. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate Generation Y students' views of brand communication, brand satisfaction and service quality in the TVET sector throughout the Gauteng Province of South Africa.As a result, this paper summarises the findings of a pilot study to establish the validity and reliability of a questionnaire used to examine Generation Y students' perceptions of brand communication, brand satisfaction and service quality related to brand loyalty in Gauteng TVET colleges. Methodology/Technique - The variables for the paper were derived from previously established questionnaires. A section of the questionnaire asked students about their views of a TVET's brand communication. Additionally, there were questions concerning the quality of service, brand selection and brand loyalty. Finally, all scale items were modified to be more contextually relevant.The questionnaire used a six-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 6 indicating strong agreement. The questionnaire was piloted with a convenience sample of 50 students not included in the primary study's sampling frame. Finding - The overall number of respondents (46) was insufficient to undertake extensive statistical testing. As a result, only frequency and correlation coefficients were computed. Correlation analysis revealed a substantial association between brand loyalty and the variables that influence it. All had a strong association between brand loyalty and brand communication, service quality and brand loyalty and satisfaction. Additionally, there were substantial correlationsbetween service quality and brand satisfaction and between service quality and brand communication. Correlation coefficients between constructs ranged from 0.294 to 0.781. This demonstrates that these constructs do not correspond to the same concept. As a result, all construct items were kept for use in the main study. Novelty - The results from the pilot study provides preliminary support for the hypothesised relationship between brand loyalty and its predictors. Marketers and service organisations need to recognise that the future patronage of a service organisation depends on loyalty. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Brand Communication; Service Quality; Brand Satisfaction; Brand Loyalty; Technical and Vocational Training JEL Classification: M31, I23, I29

Impact of Prosocial Motivation on Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Organizational Commitment: The Mediating Role of Managerial Support.

This study, based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, explores the impact of contextual variables, such as prosocial motivation, on employee discretionary behavior and organizational commitment. The mediating mechanism of managerial support at work defines the nature of the proposed relationships. Data from 303 administrative, instructional, and supervisory staff—predominantly male (95%) and with an average age of 30 years—working on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for Pakistan’s public sector were collected and analyzed by employing SPSS version 24. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested a good fit model, while a correlation matrix provided a significant and positive effect of prosocial motivation on employee citizenship behaviour and organizational commitment. Managerial support mediated the relationship between prosocial motivation and the employees’ organizational commitment and citizenship behaviour. The theoretical and practical implications discussed in this study seek to guide the management area to promote managerial support for better outcomes. These outcomes have considerable tactical, statistical, and real-world inferences for the stakeholders of the TVET sector.

TVET Reform in Federal Republic Nepal

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) includes two components - education and training that offers both academic and skill development. However, there is no uniform understanding among the countries on what these aspects should entail and variations can also be observed in governance and management. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 has demanded a complete restructuring of the country’s governance, including the reform of the education and TVET sector.
 This paper aims to shed light on the status of TVET in Nepal in the federal context and explores the management structures for the country to move forward in the changed context. Reviewing international practice, proposals are made with regard to the restructuring of the TVET. It suggests Nepali education system adopted a two-pronged strategy to facilitate the required reform in TVET sector and setup: a) reforms in existing programs and, b) structural changes.