Abstract
Good pedagogy practices require a comprehensive list of strategies that will sustain and produce students in a specific content domain. The aim of this chapter is to explore vocational pedagogic practices in classrooms and workshops at technical and vocational education training (TVET) colleges. A closed-ended Likert-type questionnaire on vocational pedagogic practices was administered to the students, while interviews were conducted on the pedagogic practices in the classroom and workshop with the lecturers. Convenient and purposive sampling were used for the selection of the participants. The study sample was 58 students and four lecturers. Data was collected through semi structured interviews and a student's questionnaire. The interviews were transcribed, and each transcription was measured with the purpose to explore vocational pedagogic practices in classrooms and workshops at TVET colleges. The percentage of each item of the questionnaire was analysed through frequency distribution using Microsoft Excel. The findings showed that the NATED section of the TVET colleges is mainly for theory where the NC (V) section is for practical. Some parts of the TVET colleges' curriculum are not satisfactory and the hands-on practical activities that are a true reflection of workplace activities are not presented adequately in the curriculum. Based on the findings, the chapter suggests that the TVET colleges' curriculum be revised and updated in order to meet the standard requirements and the lecturers should be upgraded especially on hands-on practical activities in order to prepare the students to meet the companies' requirements.
TopBackground
Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is the term at present chosen in South Africa for informing the young people especially – the knowledge, skills and competences required for skilled and semi-skilled work. TVET is tantamount with the term Vocational Education and Training (VET) that is more common internationally. Although, both are often used synonymously with an older term, skills development, nevertheless TVET or VET is debatably more precise to the world of work. While skills development may comprise any aptitude or capacity that is learned through a thoughtful effort - including personal and social abilities that are not exceptional to the workplace. On the other hand, TVET is all about learning how to accomplish specific types of work to the standards required by the trade, profession or industry. (The Swiss-South African Cooperation Initiative [SSACI] (2016). Furthermore, TVET encompasses all preparation for the sort of work performed by most people in modern, industrialized economies. The bulk of TVET in any country takes place in the post-secondary, pre-tertiary stratum of the national education and training system, and is practical rather than academic in nature. In general, TVET is groundwork for the productive use of the head, the heart and the hand together [SSACI] (2016).
Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is an essential factor of the South African education system which is organized around the national Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and its related agencies and institutions, which are:
Key Terms in this Chapter
Vocational Pedagogic: This is referred to as activities that impart knowledge or skill which has a broad meaning and comprises of planning, execution and evaluation of teaching and learning methods (Johansson et al., 2007).
Vocational Education: This is defined as instruction that based on profession and employment (Kaushik, 2014).
Professional Development: This is one of the effective means to augment teachers’ professional skills and attitudes, in order to produce better schools that will improve the learning process and student performance (Qi, 2012).
Curriculum Standard: This referred to as learning requirements in terms of a large number of distinct learning products, which further specify the performances as evidence of the learning in the classroom and workshop (Cedefop, 2008a).
Pedagogic Practices: This is when lecturers and students engaging in more practical and hands on the job approaches through questioning, whole group discussions, guided practice, interactive lectures, self-directed learning, problem-based learning, questioning, and guided study (Odogwu, 2013).
Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET): This referred to colleges that offer skills in different disciplines (DHET, 2013).