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…

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…

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…

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…

Essays in this international yearbook examine the past and present interests of governments, industry, and the economy in the education of workers, managers, engineers, and citizens. Economic, industrial, sociological, and other theoretical aspects of education within industry are discussed. Next come national and historical studies of the role of…

This study describes and analyzes the nature of skill acquisition process in one indigenous, informal training system--the apprenticeship of the wayside mechanics workshops in Koforidua, Ghana. Chapter 2 places apprenticeships training in the wider context of artisanship and training. It traces the history of the West African craft shop and its…