A critique of the vocationalization of the african curriculum

Abstract

African as well as other Third World experiences in vocationalizing their schools are characterized by one common feature: Linking school work with knowledge of community realities for the purpose of equipping young people with skills for modern sector jobs and self-help activities. Students are made to learn through doing, and at times doing some productive work to support their school and reduce the cost of their education (e.g. in Botswana), and teachers are expected to work alongside their students and make use of local materials and examples in their teaching. This, according to Carnoy (1982), is a type of ‘school which responds to the new dynamism of rural development’. But not all would argue that such alternative education is valuable. This article aims to make a critical analysis of the African attempts at vocationalizing the school curriculum, looking at certain major issues with the views of one prominent critic, Philip Foster, in mind. © 1985 The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.