The implementation of open learning in the South African TVET college sector

Abstract

This study aimed at determining the factors that significantly impact on the implementation rate of open learning in the South African TVET college sector. Despite government’s visionary papers and open learning policy framework, TVET colleges in South Africa have been slow in following international trends. Pre-COVID19, only a handful of the 50 public TVET colleges had even ventured into the idea of multi-modal, or any teaching mode, other than the traditional classroom. The methodological and analytical lens of the study is two-fold. The Critical Theory in Education (CTE) and the Stakeholder Theory that depicts the interests of the different stakeholder groups within the Higher Education band and their expectations towards the activities of TVET colleges. Case study, a qualitative research design, was utilized in the study. Semi-structured interviews with top key decision makers in the Department of Higher Education and Training, as well as open learning champions on institutional level, were used as data collection tools. The interview data was analysed using descriptive and content analysis, and themes were obtained. The findings are brought into terms with the theoretical framework and potential catalysts are suggested.