Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges
VET policy in South Africa is based on a set of assumptions regarding the identity of learners and why learners are in public further education and training (FET) colleges. These assumptions reflect an international orthodoxy about the centrality of employability that is located within what Giddens...
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| Format: | Article |
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University of Malaya Press
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32262/ |
| _version_ | 1848794371794665472 |
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| author | Powell, Lesley McGrath, Simon |
| author_facet | Powell, Lesley McGrath, Simon |
| author_sort | Powell, Lesley |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | VET policy in South Africa is based on a set of assumptions regarding the identity of learners and why learners are in public further education and training (FET) colleges. These assumptions reflect an international orthodoxy about the centrality of employability that is located within what Giddens (1994) has described as “productivism”, a view that reduces the lifeworld to the economic sphere. Through exploring the stories of a group of South African public FET college learners regarding their reasons for choosing FET colleges, this paper shows that VET is valued by these students for a range of reasons. These include preparation for the world of work, but also a desire to improve their ability to contribute to their communities and their families; raise their self-esteem; and expand their future life possibilities. Thus, the paper advances the largely hitherto theoretical critique of productivist VET accounts by offering empirical evidence of counter-narratives. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:15:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-32262 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:15:08Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | University of Malaya Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-322622020-05-04T20:17:38Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32262/ Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges Powell, Lesley McGrath, Simon VET policy in South Africa is based on a set of assumptions regarding the identity of learners and why learners are in public further education and training (FET) colleges. These assumptions reflect an international orthodoxy about the centrality of employability that is located within what Giddens (1994) has described as “productivism”, a view that reduces the lifeworld to the economic sphere. Through exploring the stories of a group of South African public FET college learners regarding their reasons for choosing FET colleges, this paper shows that VET is valued by these students for a range of reasons. These include preparation for the world of work, but also a desire to improve their ability to contribute to their communities and their families; raise their self-esteem; and expand their future life possibilities. Thus, the paper advances the largely hitherto theoretical critique of productivist VET accounts by offering empirical evidence of counter-narratives. University of Malaya Press 2014 Article PeerReviewed Powell, Lesley and McGrath, Simon (2014) Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 3 (2). pp. 213-226. ISSN 2289-2567 Vocational Education and Training South Africa Further Education and Training colleges employability http://jice.um.edu.my/filebank/published_article/7363/4Powell&McGrath.pdf doi:10.14425/00.73.63 doi:10.14425/00.73.63 |
| spellingShingle | Vocational Education and Training South Africa Further Education and Training colleges employability Powell, Lesley McGrath, Simon Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges |
| title | Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges |
| title_full | Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges |
| title_fullStr | Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges |
| title_short | Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges |
| title_sort | advancing life projects: south african students explain why they come to fet colleges |
| topic | Vocational Education and Training South Africa Further Education and Training colleges employability |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32262/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32262/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32262/ |