Description
Book SynopsisEPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The transition to more just and sustainable development requires radical change across a wide range of areas and particularly within the nexus between learning and work. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training that goes beyond the narrow focus of much of the current literature and policy debate. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this issue through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups, and in public and private educational institutions. Offering new insights and ways of thinking about this field, the book draws out clear implications for theory, policy and practice in Africa and beyond.
Trade Review"This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the future of vocational education and training on the African continent. The book is beautifully written by a team of leading experts on VET in Africa. Rich in empirical evidence and theoretical insight, the book develops an important argument about the urgent need to radically transform VET so as to achieve more sustainable futures on the continent." Leon Tikly, University of Bristol
"This is a thoughtfully detailed and committed edited volume which employs the “social ecosystem for skills” model as a basic foundation for successful transition of vocational education and training in Africa, in the spirit of lifelong learning. Readers in African countries will find this book useful and timely for application in VET institutions." International Review of Education
Table of Contents1. Introducing VET Africa 4.0 - Heila Lotz-Sisitka and Simon McGrath 2. VET and Skills in Africa: A Historical Sociology - Simon McGrath 3. Water, Transport, Oil and Food: A Political–Economy–Ecology Lens on Changing Conceptions of Work, Learning and Skills Development in Africa - Heila Lotz-Sisitka 4. Towards an Expanded Notion of Skills Ecosystems - Presha Ramsarup and Jo-Anna Russon 5. Social Ecosystem for Skills Research: Inclusivity, Relationality and Informality - Luke Metelerkamp and David Monk 6. Vocational Teachers as Mediators in Complex Ecosystems - Jo-Anna Russon and Volker Wedekind 7. Challenges in Transition Processes - Presha Ramsarup and Jo-Anna Russon 8. The Role of the University as Mediator in a Skills Ecosystem Approach to VET - Heila Lotz-Sisitka, George Openjuru and Jacques Zeelen 9. Implications for VET Research, Policy and Practice - Simon McGrath Afterword: Towards a More Just and Sustainable Research Practice - VET Africa 4.0 Collective
