The paper addresses the impact of COVID-19 on vocational education and training, seeking to discern the outline of possible directions for its future development within the debates about VET responses to the pandemic. The discussion is set in its socio-economic context, considering debates that engage with the social relations of care and…

Studies show teaching assistants (TAs) can positively influence the learning environment by increasing student comprehension and retention and impacting students' choices of academic and career paths. However, use of TAs in higher education is not universal. Following a fruitful panel discussion at the 2017 HAPS Conference, we conducted a survey…

The Education for All initiative concluded in 2015, but in many countries, and particularly in the developing countries, secondary education is still the preserve of the privileged few. This means that millions of adults and young people are denied the opportunity to complete their basic education, which in turns sees them trapped in a pattern of…

Describes traditional forms of apprenticeship in Africa and examines legislative and institutional attempts to improve the system. Makes recommendations for obtaining greater cost effectiveness by combining on-the-job training with theoretical instruction, upgrading trainers, and giving them fair remuneration. (SK)

This booklet targets policymakers and educators with busy lives (especially those in developing countries) who may neither have the time nor the opportunity to read widely across all the issues raised herein. This publication looks at all forms of teacher learning, formal and informal, from teachers' own early schooling, through their training,…

Many developing countries have tried, with varying results, to adopt the German Dual System of apprenticeship plus vocational training. Country-specific cultural, economic, and social factors affect success. Promoting apprenticeship and adapting the dual system to local structures such as micro-enterprises may present an alternative to vocational…

This paper is concerned with the human capital theory of education as it is employed in designing, justifying, and funding African educational programs. According to this theory, where the most measurable and direct relationships between the world of work and that of school are purported to exist, those individuals who invest in education are…

Asking how to enrich on-the-job-training and, in particular, the traditional apprenticeship system in Africa without unduly burdening employers or smothering this system that is firmly rooted in African culture and is particularly well-suited to the conditions of African life, this document concludes that it is necessary to improve the skills of…

Identifies various ways in which training, education, and production have been combined and which institutional formats have been used. Analyzes the underlying principles of such combinations, their problems, and their likely variation in learning outcomes and impact. The discussion is limited to developments and programs in East and Southern…

Apprenticeship is the main avenue to self-employment in micro-enterprises and thus a cornerstone of informal sector development in West Africa. Survey results for Ibadan, Lome, Dakar, Niamey, and other cities demonstrate that apprenticeship as practiced by informal sector artisans is often very similar from one country to the next. Dropout rates…

Explores the economic and cultural reasons why apprenticeship programs imported by developing countries typically fail. Addresses experiences in Western Africa and draws on the outcomes of programs in industrialized countries. Supports programs that improve educational systems incrementally and cautions against programs that run counter to the…

This book looks at the issue of youth unemployment and examines policy responses. Part I considers the youth unemployment problem. Chapter 1 is an overview, covering size of the problem and the close relationship between youth and adult unemployment. Chapter 2 examines youth unemployment characteristics and distribution of unemployment across…