The teaching pedagogy of TVET college lecturers : a case study of three Eastern Cape TVET colleges

Abstract

Lecturers are central in delivering the vocational curriculum that is offered by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, and they need to have relevant knowledge, qualifications, and skills. In the past, lecturers were recruited from industry with no teacher qualifications or teaching skills. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of TVET college lecturers who teach with or without pedagogy. This was a case study of three TVET colleges, and it was geographically limited to Eastern Cape province. It was a qualitative study which collected data using interviews, literature review and document analysis. The main findings of this study were that general pedagogy and vocational pedagogy are not the same. Vocational curriculum outcomes differ from school curriculum outcomes. TVET college lecturers were not aware of the TVET college lecturer qualifications that are in the Government Gazette. The study recommends daily use of the concepts of pedagogy and vocational pedagogy by TVET colleges in their planning. Universities need to separate pedagogy and subject didactics in the design of lecturer qualifications. The gazetted lecturer qualifications need to introduce the concept of vocational pedagogy, and this must be fundamental across all the qualifications. A 1-year National Qualifications Framework Level 7 lecturer qualification should be developed by universities, which will aim to bridge the pedagogical knowledge gap between the traditional teacher qualifications and the lecturer qualifications, while the Department of Higher Education and Training needs to accommodate it in its policy on lecturer qualifications. A new model, called the ‘competence model for TVET college lecturers’ was developed, and it is recommended that it should be used as a guide in the employment of competent TVET college lecturers. This model will also be useful for the lecturers’ continuous professional development.