Session Information
02 SES 03 A, International Perspectives on VET II: Reforms
Paper Session
Contribution
We present an extensive systematic review of the TVET research literature in SSA (2000–2018). The review offers a comprehensive and complete census of the state of TVET research (as opposed to TVET practice) in the region.
Research on TVET in SSA is often not rigorous. Accordingly, the strength of evidence on the impact of TVET on societal outcomes was limited in the studies reviewed. However, we note that our main aim is a census of the existing research literature, with view to identifying research gaps, opportunities for capacity building, as well as leading individuals and institutions. While extracting messages for TVET practice is also important, it is not our only aim (and, indeed hard to achieve given the existing literature in SSA).
We asked:
- In what contexts have studies been (or are being) generated in sub-Saharan Africa? For example, what is the institutional setting (e.g., NGO vs. university vs. government vs. industry)?
- Which definition of TVET (i.e., vocational training, apprenticeship, apprentissage, etc) is used? Which (possibly divergent) terms are used? Where are such terms used (geographies) and how?
- What are the topics, perspectives and current debates concerning TVET that can be identified? Are there special topics that stand out?
- What are the research designs in the publications considered? What are the research methods used?
- What TVET models are discernable in the literature? What are the main lessons in designing, developing and delivering TVET models?
- Are the practical components of programmes a differentiator? (For example: cooperation between college and business as places of learning) Are there already dual approaches that have been considered? Is the degree of practical components (e.g., cooperation school-enterprise) in each context a differentiator?
- What conclusions for further research are evidenced (in the publication: articles, web pages, policies)?
- What are the main inclusion-related challenges (equal treatment, e.g., gender, disability) in TVET in SSA? What are the relevant successes and failures with respect to inclusion in the TVET implementations?
- What research networks on TVET in Africa already exist, and to what extent do African research institutions and personalities themselves contribute or are involved?
- Distribution: For which countries are most of the research findings available, and for which there seems to be few? Which forms of training and professional fields occur in which locations?
- Which countries have national standards for TVET? How were they produced and for whom do they apply: students, educators, educators located at the workplace, pedagogy specialists or institutions?
- To what extent are institutions delivering TVET education (e.g., NGOs, state schools, colleges) subject to state policies and regulations (on TVET and otherwise: national infrastructure, economic, legal factors)?
This research was commissioned the German Office for International Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training (GOVET).
Method
Our literature review approach used extensive research through online databases with different search terms. Our literature search employed in-house algorithms for automated cross-repository search in 11 repositories, retrieving grey literature as well as research reports, peer-reviewed papers, literature reviews, education policies, books, chapters and conference papers. The search terms integration strategy was based on PICO ('population, intervention, comparator and outcome', Higgins, & Green, 2011; Waddington, et al., 2012), where: ● Population: Sub-Saharan Africa / Sub-Saharan Africa; ● Intervention: TVET use ICT; ● Comparator: open (e.g., no comparator or control group, etc., depending on the study); ● Results: Insight on vocational training. Our detailed data extraction approach follows EPPI Center guidelines "Extracting data and quality assessing primary studies in educational research" (2003, updated 2017). Our "keywording" strategy also follows the EPPI Center guidelines (2001, updated 2017). We searched for approximately 125 keywords (and their variations) across 4 languages: English, German, French and Portuguese. These keywords were related to research, TVET, SSA region and country, different professions (such as bricklayer, tourism, craftsman, nurse) and of a specific focus (such as curriculum, policy, inclusion, pedagogy, leadership). Terms were combined into over 10,000 search phrases, such as “TVET tourism Malawi”. Approximately 2,000 publications remained after screening and elimination of duplicates. All the 2,000 references retained after the automated cross-search were manually reviewed in the order of a relevance score, automatically computed from the occurrence of key terms in the abstract and title. Articles were ranked high, medium, low. Due to a large number of publications, we employ the following scale: ● ‘low’: the publication is clearly not relevant to our search questions; ● ‘medium’: the degree of relevance is not immediately clear; and ● ‘high’: the publication appears relevant. The most extensive source of literature was the automated discovery process. However, we additionally consulted as sources of evidence known literature to the authors, recommendations from colleagues working in the area of TVET, web-search (particularly to discover policies), and snowballing, where literature discovered through the other methods referenced further interesting papers. 600 publications were ranked as high, from which 280 publications were then selected for manual analysis, as there were particularly relevant to the research question (‘ultra-high’). Content analysis of the full text of publications was undertaken in NVIVO, including thematic analysis. Additionally, quantitative analysis was undertaken, for example regarding publication dates, author grouping, and countries/regions of interest (within SSA).
Expected Outcomes
Based on these publications reviewed, we arrive at the following conclusions. 1. The plurality of definitions of TVET needs to be accepted, and be placed within a common framework, characterized by various dimensions (such as temporal, cooperative, formality, expansive/restrictive). 2. The surveyed literature includes studies on 43 nations in SSA. The focus is on Southern/East Africa. Apart from Ghana/Nigeria there are few articles from West Africa or Central Africa. 3. The vast majority of research takes place in the context of college-based models (usually competency-based). Dual approaches are only minimally reflected. 4. Among the key themes in the literature was the use of ICT within TVET, i.e. as a tool in technical and vocational education and training. This represents an important starting point for further research. 5. Integration and equal opportunities are treated rarely. Women are underrepresented in TVET. People with disabilities have limited access to TVET services, so their participation in TVET is limited. There is an urgent need for future research. 6. Research on policy implementation or evaluation is rare. Official documents may mention that implementation of the policy should be evaluated and adapted accordingly; however, details are generally unavailable. There remain considerable difficulties to be overcome before research will generate insights relevant to policymakers. 7. Systemic approaches to TVET cannot be found. There is an urgent need to develop and apply research methods on TVET outcomes and impact. This must necessarily include pedagogical approaches to TVET as well as training for TVET educators. 8. The most rominent TVET network in SSA is the UNEVOC network. There are no strong or dedicated TVET research networks in SSA.
References
Adedoja & Oluwadara (2016). Influence of Mobile Learning Training on Pre-service Social Studies Teachers’ Technology and Mobile Phone Self-Efficacies. In Journal of Education and Practice, 7(2), 74-79. Lange (2016). Achieving teaching quality in sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical results from cascade training. Bamberg: Springer, p. 242. Mastellos, et al. (2018) Training community healthcare workers on the use of information and communication technologies: a randomised controlled trial of traditional versus blended learning in Malawi, Africa. In BCM Medical Education, 18(61), 1-13. Sambo (2016). Factors affecting youth entrepreneurship development within Kibera, Kenya: the perspective of entrepreneurship education. In Problems and Perspectives in Management, 14(2-2), 331-338. Waddington, et al. (2012). How to do a good systematic review of effects in international development: a tool kit. In Journal of Development Effectiveness, 4:3, 359-387 Wolf (2018). Impacts of Pre-Service Training and Coaching on Kindergarten Quality and Student Learning Outcomes in Ghana. In press (Studies in Education Evaluation).
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