Technical And Vocational Education And Training Colleges Research Articles

Teacher’s Viewson the Relevance of Technical and Vocational Educationand Training (TVET) College Curriculato Labour Market

The main objectives of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges is to impart skills and develop the youth and young adults with relevant skills for transition into the labour market. The realisation of these objectives can be met if TVET colleges offer relevant and responsive curricula in line with current labour market trends. The aim of this study is to present the findings of lecturer’s perceptions on the responsiveness of National Certificate Vocational (NC V) civil engineering curriculum to labour market. A qualitative case study was employed in this study. This research study was conducted through a semi-structured interviews with twelve lecturers from four TVET colleges in South Africa. Study findings revealed that: 1. Lecturers perceive that NC V civil engineering curriculum does not provide adequate skills for the labour market 2. The NC V civil engineering curriculum need to be revised and updated as a matter of urgency. Therefore there is an urgent need to review and update the NC V civil engineering curriculum in line with labour market development. The researcher recommend that NC V civil engineering curriculum reviewal process need to involve the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), subject specialist, industry experts and all other stakeholders. Failure to address this issue will result in South Africa’s TVET colleges offering irrelevant and outdated curricula content which lags behind in the modern era of technological advancement.

Factors affecting the adoption of activity-based costing at technical and vocational education and training colleges in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Orientation: It is impossible to accurately determine the detailed costs of running courses offered at South African technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, as none of them practises activity-based costing (ABC). The perceptions and knowledge of their finance staff regarding ABC adoption are unknown, making it impossible also to know their reasons for non-adoption.Research purpose: This article reports the awareness of and attitudes towards ABC held by finance staff at six TVET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal and proposes a novel model for its successful adoption.Motivation for the study: The lack of empirical studies demanded understanding of those factors that address ABC adoption at South African public TVET colleges. This study therefore assessed finance staff members’ perceptions of those factors that would support the introduction of this costing system.Research approach/design and method: This study ascertained these opinions and knowledge by surveying 30 members of the finance staff at six TVET colleges using a questionnaire.Main findings: The study’s population perceived that lack of top management support, the colleges’ cost structure and technical factors are barriers to the implementation of ABC in their institutions.Practical/managerial implications: South African public colleges should address those obstructing factors as the successful adoption of ABC will facilitate the accurate calculation of their operational costs.Contribution/value-add: The study identifies those factors that would facilitate the adoption of ABC and proposes a model that would assist in the implementation of this costing system in South African public colleges.

What We Assess Is What We Produce: Moving Towards the Development of Skills in South African FET Colleges

ABSTRACT The focus of this study was to investigate the coherence between the needs of industry and the curriculum offered at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. The context of this study was TVET colleges, which is a relatively recent sector in the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), in South Africa. There is an unacceptably high rate of unemployment in South Africa and in particular, there is a shortage of technical skills, which the TVET sector is expected to address. Concerns have been expressed about the effectiveness of these colleges in producing graduates with employability skills. This study investigated whether the assessment strategies employed in the Electrical Engineering curriculum are appropriate in preparing the students for practice. A qualitative research design was used where a sample consisting of seven Further Education and Training (FET) College graduates and three instructors (lecturers) were selected using a snowball sampling technique. Findings of this research are that the current assessment strategy used in FET colleges (written testing) does not lead to the development of employability skills in FET graduates. The proposed TVET programs are those that promote a dual assessment throughout the course that yields the technical knowledge and employability outcomes that will meet the needs of industries.

Perception gaps on employable skills between technical and vocational education and training (TVET) teachers and students: the case of the garment sector in Ethiopia

PurposeThis article focuses on the perception gaps between teachers and students of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) related to garment production and the reasons behind such gaps. Garment production is the priority sector for the Ethiopian government, which plans to make it the driver of export-oriented growth. At the same time, it is among the programs that demonstrate the lowest employment rates.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed by the authors. It was completed by 162 students and 53 teachers in garment-related programs of seven TVET colleges in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia.FindingsThe findings show that while teachers tend to highlight the importance of practical skills, students desire broader coverage of practical and managerial skills and entrepreneurship. The expectations differ not only based on the person's recognition of labor market conditions but also by the conviction of the efficacy of the education and training system itself. Teachers tend to be persistent on conventional approaches of teaching, while the advanced training on new approaches based on the competency-based training (CBT) significantly impacts on their attitude. Meanwhile, students' perceptions are largely based on their job aspirations and motivations for schooling.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings may serve to improve the relevance of the Ethiopian Occupation Standards.Originality/valueThe unique feature of this study is that the authors measure skills from multiple dimensions. While the authors examine participants' perceptions of occupation-specific skills, they also analyze the relationships of these perceptions with attitudinal and cognitive skills.

Exploring the Causes of Student Attrition in South African TVET Colleges: A Case of One KwaZulu-Natal Technical and Vocational Education and Training College

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges are the cornerstone in addressing unemployment, poverty and building the economy of the Republic of South Africa by producing well-equipped artisans. TVET Colleges are expected to enrol 2.5 million students by 2030 (Branson et al. in S Afr Child Gauge 1:1–8, 2015). To achieve this, the TVET Colleges should have a sound throughput at the end of each academic cycle. However, the main challenge faced by the TVET Colleges and the Department of Higher Education and Training at large is high levels of student attrition which impede the TVET Colleges from achieving their goals. This study sought to ascertain the nature of and the reasons behind this high attrition rate. The acquisition of this knowledge should be an essential step in addressing the problem. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, this study conducted interviews (N = 20) and questionnaire surveys (N = 100) with purposively selected staff and students at one TVET College in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The findings show that attrition is high and uniform across the programmes and campuses. Factors behind the high attrition rate at the TVET Colleges include dissatisfaction with the programs offered, inadequate student induction and inadequate student work placement. This study concluded that the causes of student attrition are multidimensional and multi-sourced. A multi-pronged strategy implemented by responsible stakeholders is required to solve this problem.

JOVACET Volume 2 Issue 2 (2019)

JOVACET Volume 2 Issue 2 (2019)

Factors influencing the intention of students at a selected TVET college in the Western Cape to complete their National Certificate (Vocational) Business Studies programme

Student dropout, also called ‘early departure’, is a significant problem in South Africa’s post-school education and training (PSET) landscape, specifically in the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector. The challenge of student retention and programme completion (the antithesis of dropping out) is equally significant and important to TVET institutions, the state department responsible (Department of Higher Education and Training) and the South African economy. Early departure negatively influences the success rates of educational institutions. It also influences the chances of personal employment and financial well-being of individual students, causing financial ripple effects on society and government. Students’ decisions to remain or leave college or a programme are influenced by a variety of individual and social factors, both internal and external, including people close to the students and the policies, systems and structures within which students interact. These factors also encompass the quality and friendliness of teachers, social interaction with teachers and peers, and the role played by friends in academic achievement. This article reports on a study of student perspectives on the internal and external factors that influence their retention in, and completion of, a TVET college Business Studies National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) programme in the Western Cape, South Africa. An improved understanding of student experiences, intentions, and decision-making processes leading to persistence provides a foundation for improving student retention and programme completion in a TVET environment.

TVET policy in South Africa: Caught between neo-liberalism and privatisation?

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) policy in South Africa since 1994 has stressed the vital importance of this sector in contributing to economic growth and alleviating socio-economic inequities. Twenty years after these policies were first set down and replicated in subsequent legislation, South Africa’s TVET sector has not been able to contribute to the key policy priority of reducing unemployment. Moreover, the sector has had a limited impact on achieving the nation’s economic goals. From the perspective of developing human capital, significant state investment in this sector has realised very low economic returns. There is extensive literature on the privatisation of education and the effects this has had on education and training policies and systems. This article draws on theoretical approaches that analyse the internal and external changes to public education and training systems as a result of privatisation. Furthermore, the article argues that both public and private TVET providers have been subjected to differing endogenous and exogenous privatisation approaches as defined by Ball and Youdell (2007). These dual approaches have affected the ability of the TVET college sector to respond effectively to South Africa’s education and training needs for economic growth, despite the prioritisation of this sector in government policy.

Towards a conceptual framework for analysing the gendered experiences of women in TVET leadership

Gender inequalities handicap leadership structures in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in South Africa. TVET women leaders’ gendered experiences are, first, intrinsically connected to both a professional career in TVET and family roles – the two being mutually inclusive – and can, secondly, be linked to three career pathways, namely learning, acquiring and performing leadership roles. Based on the relevant literature, the authors present a conceptual framework where themes include: such women leaders’ demographically influenced experiences; the stages in becoming a leader; gender-related notions and challenges; leadership contexts; and strategies for managing gendered experiences. Based on Maritz’s business coaching model, the framework contends with factors that may influence the current lack of women in TVET leadership. This article raises gender-related issues that are relevant to the entire TVET college sector, including current and future leaders, decision-makers and policy developers.

Deficiencies in technical and vocational education and training lecturer involvement qualifications and its implications in the development of work related skills

Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers play an important role in providing a competent workforce that can contribute to the economy in countries worldwide. The critical role played by TVET lecturers requires of them to have appropriate academic qualifications, workplace qualifications and experience, and teaching qualifications. Research has shown that few lecturers have adequate and required academic, workplace and teaching qualifications. The purpose of this study was to determine the deficiencies in TVET lecturer qualifications and how these deficiencies are addressed by management at TVET colleges in South Africa. While a substantial number of lecturers had academic qualifications at the time of investigation, deficiencies were found in TVET lecturers’ workplace qualifications and experience, as well as in their teaching qualifications. Having identified the deficiencies in TVET lecturer's qualifications, recommendations have been made to serve as guidelines in addressing the lack of either academic, teaching or workplace qualifications and experience.

Gender Transformation Experiences among Women Leaders in the Western Cape TVET Sector: A Narrative Response

Leadership structures in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in South Africa face stark gender inequalities. Narratives of women currently in TVET leadership positions in the Western Cape province of South Africa might shed light on gender transformation in this sector. This article provides an insider perspective on 10 purposively selected respondents’ shared experiences during their careers as women leaders through a narrative methodology. The data produced themes like family roles and a professional career balance, stages in becoming a leader, gender-related notions, leadership contexts, and strategies to manage gendered experiences. The analytical framework developed illustrates how these themes were reconciled with a structured method of narrative analysis, described as a problem-solution approach, analysing raw data for five elements of plot structure, namely characters, setting, problem, actions, and resolutions. Aligning the conceptual and analytical frameworks facilitated re-storying inside a plot-structured narrative. The results reported gender transformation progress regarding the career progression of women leaders. Conversely, progress concerning gender stereotyping and men-to-women and women-to-women discrimination was unsatisfactory, causing some respondents to abandon leadership ambitions. Although the small sample size precludes any claim to generalisability, the reported narratives serve as a guideline in addressing all-inclusive gender transformation in TVET college leadership.

Challenges and Prospects of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET): Evidence from Sawla TVET College, Gamo Gofa Zone, SNNPRS, Ethiopia

The main purpose of this study was to assess the challenges and prospects of Sawla TVET College located at Sawla town administration, South Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State. The study used descriptive survey method through both quantitative and qualitative approach. The current trainees and senior graduates of the college who are engaged at work in the study area were taken as sample frame from which 253 samples were selected using stratified and simple random sampling methods based on the strata of the population. The current trainees and senior graduates who are engaged at work, the trainers, college management, local government officials, unemployed youths and community representatives were selected as primary data sources whereas secondary data were collected from document analysis of the college and local government. Quantitative data were collected using Questionnaires and the qualitative data via interview, focus group discussions and observations. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS version 21 which provided the frequency count and the percentage of the responses. The major findings of the study shows that the perception of the public concerning TVET is discouraging that looks it as place of last resort for those who have no were to go, awareness creation of the stakeholders is weak, low access of job in the area is another demotivating factor of the youth not to join TVET, and hence the enrollment of the college is below the target. The trainees are selective in streaming thinking of the job opportunity after completion of the training. The integration of the TVET College with stakeholders is very weak and hence, they are not delivering their responsibilities. The internal capacity of the college is not satisfactory in that it lacks qualified trainers, unavailability of well-functioning machines, and provision of raw materials for practical skills training is not timely and enough. Finally, the study recommends the TVET together with the local government to work on awareness creation of the society about the TVET, to strengthen the integration with stakeholders for increased intake of trainees, employability of the graduates, provision of quality training and industry extension and deal with the region to develop its internal capacity. Addressing these issues would make the future prospect of Sawla TVET College better than ever before. Keywords: Sawla TVET College, Skilled manpower, Employment, MSEs, Industry extension, DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-5-02 Publication date:March 31st 2019

EVALUATION OF OUTCOME-BASED ACCOUNTING EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN SELECTED COLLEGES IN WEST OROMIA, ETHIOPIA

Purpose: The demand for accountants is increasing from time to time because of the increase in the complexity of the business environment. Higher education institutions are responsible for producing well qualified and ethical accountant required by different organisations. Specifically, Technical and Vocational education and Training (TVET) colleges play a great role in training middle and lower level accountant in Ethiopia. However, academicians, practitioner and employers are raising concern on the excellence and significance of training given in TVET colleges. The objective of this research is to evaluate the education and training in accounting offered by public and private colleges in West Oromia region, Ethiopia. Research Methodology: This study used the cross-sectional survey to obtain the opinion of the trainee, trainers and college deans on how TVET in accounting program is performing about each of the components of CIPP model and identify the knowledge and skill gap as compared to the actual work environment. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used in the analysis. Findings: Examination of the existing TVET in accounting curriculum found that it has a limitation concerning relevance and content. The study further found that there is a lack of sufficient inputs such as an adequate number of qualified trainers, computers and Reference books. Trainers mainly use lecture methods, and there are various problems associated with continuous and summative evaluation. Therefore, it is recommended that the existing curriculum should be revisited, sufficient training inputs should be availed and cooperative training should be strengthened.Research Limitations: This research is based on the respondent’s opinion from a limited part of the country. The nationwide survey is required to conclude at the country level. Practical Implication: the finding and recommendation given in this study can be used in strengthening TVET in accounting education and training in Ethiopia. Originality / Value: Previous studies investigated the challenges of TVET education and training in general terms, and this specific study which focuses on TVET in accounting is the first attempt in Ethiopia.

Epistemic Injustice: Barrier to Articulation Management between Higher Education Institutions in South Africa

The call for free education and decolonization of higher education curricula in recent years by university students in South Africa has increased awareness of epistemological issues and the notion of epistemic justice in higher education. In national policies education is presented as a critical means for addressing inequality, poverty and unemployment and the need for integration of the various strands of the post-school education and training system is highlighted. Systemic articulation between institutions of learning and work is viewed as expanding access to education and training opportunities.A national articulation baseline survey involving all public universities and technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges was undertaken in November 2016 in order to explore the existence and nature of articulation initiatives, and identify enablers and barriers to articulation between higher education institutions in South Africa. The report was completed in October 2017. This paper focuses on findings in the report related to articulation management between TVET colleges and universities. Although not explicitly stated, the findings revealed the prevalence of what we refer to as epistemic injustice, indicated by the extent to which individual and collective attitudes in academia perpetuate discrimination that impacts negatively on students’ progression from one institution to another higher learning institution. The need for epistemic justice to be included in the articulation lexicon on a national level is highlighted. One of the recommendations made in the report is that the South African Qualifications Authority should raise the level of awareness of epistemic injustice at institutional and individual levels.

Leading curriculum change in South African technical and vocational education and training colleges

This article proposes that the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) collegecurriculum in South Africa needs restructuring in order for it to support more innovativeresponses to industry requirements and TVET standards. The ultimate aim of this study was todevelop a framework for leading curriculum change in the South African TVET college sector, aframework that will be able to support training and capacity-building among TVET collegeleaders to bring about long-overdue curriculum change. To achieve this aim, curriculumleadership is essential. The multi-phased, mixed-methods research design used in this studyinvolved a questionnaire survey and follow-up group interviews with TVET college staffrepresentative of five TVET colleges in the Western Cape province. Based on these data sources,the study reports on a range of current curriculum challenges in TVET colleges which formed thebasis for suggesting a research-based framework to train leaders to take the initiative in TVETcuriculum change. The study findings confirm the need for TVET college curriculum reform,which, in turn, requires competent curriculum leadership and leadership development. Theresearch therefore contributes to theory and practice in the field of South African TVETcurriculum leadership.

Conflicting priorities: The dichotomous roles of leadership and management at TVET colleges

The notions of leadership and management in the technical and vocational education and training(TVET) sector have become blurred in South Africa. The growing need for responsive and flexibleleadership in the TVET sector has resulted in challenges that can only be overcome with therelevant leadership knowledge and skills. Our findings suggest that the demands of leadershipand management have created conflicting priorities for leaders at the TVET colleges. Leadershipdevelopment in the TVET sector may be one way of addressing these issues. Yet, in South Africa,there are no strategically planned, custom-designed leadership development programmes forleaders in public TVET colleges. A curriculum framework for leadership development should beinformed by these conflicting priorities in order to reprioritise the focus of TVET leaders in SouthAfrica on their core business: that of vocational education. This article reports on current andfuture TVET leaders’ perceptions of how the notions of leadership and management influencetheir practice.

Work-integrated learning for TVET lecturers: Articulating industry and college practices

South Africa’s policy frameworks for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and adult and continuing education and training (ACET) lecturers require that the work-integrated learning (WIL) element of programmes include WIL in appropriate ‘industry settings’ to ensure that TVET lecturers develop expertise in both teaching their subjects and preparing their students for the demands of the workplace. Whereas the country’s education faculties have a strongly developed practice of school-based WIL, none currently offers a formal programme that includes WIL in industry. International literature on teacher placement in industry thus largely concerns the in-service placement of practising educators to develop and update their industry knowledge and experience. In South Africa, some institutions have embarked on projects that have developedknowledge of industry WIL for TVET college lecturers, one of these being the SSACI-EDTP SETA WIL for Lecturers Project, through which more than 400 college lecturers have completed a work placement, conducted between 2014 and 2017. It provides a significant amount of information on the possible nature and implementation of the industry-based WIL component of the lecturer qualifications currently being developed. Using the Shulman and Shulman (2004) framework on teacher learning, this article analyses the project. It seeks to deepen the understanding of the nature of lecturer learning through WIL and also to contribute to the national, African and broader international discourse on the placement in industry of vocational educators and articulation between the worlds of work and education.

Examining factors that shape Technical Vocational Education and Training engineering students’ understanding of their career choices

Background: This article seeks to examine factors that shape Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) engineering students’ understanding of their future career choices. Moreover, given the promising and ambitious vision for growth in both TVET and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), as envisaged by the policy framework, White Paper on Post School Education and Training (PSET) aimed at addressing the challenges, amongst others, of youth unemployment. Objectives: The objective of this article is to ascertain factors that inform students’ understanding of their future career prospects. Methods: In this research, qualitative self-administered, open-ended questionnaires were employed as a data collection tool to gather facts about students’ beliefs, feelings and experiences regarding certain engineering programmes and services offered at TVET colleges. Consequently, purposive sampling was utilised to sample 113 engineering participants who voluntarily completed the questionnaires, which were organised to gather the required data. Results: The findings of the study point to divergent views, where some students felt very strongly that TVET engineering qualification leads to full employment because of the demand for this skill, while other students argued that the high rate of unemployment in South Africa is so deep such that even graduates irrespective of qualification are not guaranteed employment in South Africa. Conclusion: Consequently, the researchers believe that the TVET’s learning programmes should be repositioned to articulate as a poor response to poor schooling in relation to labour market, amongst others, to ease school leavers into jobs or self-employment under conditions of widespread youth unemployment.

Access, Participation and Success: The Tri-Dimensional Conundrum of Academic Outcomes in a South African TVET College

Abstract This study sought to unravel academic factors which influence access, participation and success in a South African technical, vocational, education and training (TVET) college. The research questions which guided this research paper were as follows: What are students’ experiences of access, participation and success in the context of one South African TVET college? How do students navigate the contextual dynamics that affect access, participation and success? A qualitative research design was used to investigate academic factors which impede or promote access, participation and success in the TVET College. An interview schedule was used to generate data which would highlight the participants’ experiences of access, participation and success in the TVET College. An analysis of the reasons why students experience challenges in their academic performance in the college revealed that the under-preparedness of students for the TVET curriculum, the language of instruction, academic support programmes in the college, provision of educational resources assessment approaches had negative and/or positive influences on access, participation and success in the TVET college.

Predictors of unplanned pregnancies among female students at South African Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges: Findings from the 2014 Higher Education and Training HIV and AIDS survey.

Unplanned pregnancies among college/tertiary female students pose a serious public health concern in South Africa (SA) and are associated with adverse health and social outcomes that impact negatively on educational progress and future career prospects. To examine the potential predictors of unplanned pregnancy among female students at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in SA. This analysis used data drawn from the 2014 Higher Education and Training HIV and AIDS survey, which was a nationally representative survey of TVET college students in SA. Associations between unplanned pregnancy and the explanatory variables were assessed using bivariate analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the effect of several independent predictors of unplanned pregnancy. Of 1 002 female students who responded to the question on unplanned pregnancy, 74.6% reported having had an unplanned pregnancy. Predictors significantly associated with a reduced likelihood of unplanned pregnancy among female TVET students included living with a husband (odds ratio (OR) 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13 - 0.62; p=0.002), having two (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.23 - 0.88; p=0.003) or three (OR 0.07, 95% CI 0.01 - 0.39; p=0.003) previous pregnancies, and not having had an abortion (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.04 - 0.62; p=0.008). The high level of unplanned pregnancies is indicative of the state of women's reproductive health services at SA TVET colleges. The findings suggest that certain groups of female students are at increased risk of unplanned pregnancy and would benefit from targeted family planning interventions tailored to their needs.