Salient effects of lingering colonial pasts in Africa's technical and vocational education and training systems: A review of former French and British colonies

Ntsane Reginald Lepholisa; Rong Yu

doi:10.54844/vte.2025.0959

Authors

Ntsane Reginald Lepholisa Zhejiang Normal University
Rong Yu Zhejiang Normal University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54844/vte.2025.0959

Keywords:

technical and vocational education and training, decolonizing education, African technical and vocational education and training systems, vocational education reform

Abstract

Africa's technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems continue to wrestle with structures inherited from colonial rule. This review is an inquest on the ways in which enduring colonial legacies have influenced the creation and implementation of TVET policies in several French and British colonies. The study performs a comprehensive qualitative synthesis of 38 peer-reviewed papers published from 1990 to 2024. These articles were obtained through searching with deductive keywords in vocational education across databases such as EBSCO, Web of Science, and Scopus. Following the elimination of duplicate articles, an assessment of relevance, and an evaluation of academic credibility, research papers that specifically investigated colonial impacts on vocational education in former African colonies were selected. This study identified three primary themes during this process: Historical structures of colonial TVET, impediments to TVET policy implementation and persistent influence of colonial legacies on policy and resources. Case studies from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and five francophone nations (Benin, Senegal, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Mauritius) indicate the enduring impact of colonial-era educational frameworks on contemporary TVET objectives. The study demonstrates that multilateral initiatives such as China's Luban Workshops provide new frameworks for curriculum reform, educator training, and industrial collaborations. This review synthesizes material from several African contexts to develop a historiographical, informed theory of vocational education in Africa, connecting colonial roots to current policy issues. The study concludes by emphasizing strategies for decolonizing vocational curricula, improving governance, and establishing global collaborations to elevate student achievements.

Author Biographies

Ntsane Reginald Lepholisa, Zhejiang Normal University

PhD Researcher, Institute of International and Comparative Education, College of Education, Zhejiang Normal University

Rong Yu, Zhejiang Normal University

Professor Yu Rong first obtained a Bachelor of Education in School Education from Beijing Normal University, then a Master of Management in Educational Economics and Management, and a Doctor of Education in the History of Education. Currently, he is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the College of Education, Zhejiang Normal University. His primary research interests focus on the history of foreign education and comparative higher education. He has authored and translated numerous monographs, including Academic Research in American Universities during the Cold War, Higher Education in Morocco, The Formation and Development of the “Golden Age” of American Research Universities, Education in a Free Society: The American Experience, The Rise of American Research Universities, and Education, Poverty, and Development in the Sahara African Countries. Additionally, he has published over forty journal articles. His research projects include leading one national-level general project under the National Teaching and Research Program, one Youth Fund project and one Planning Fund project in the Humanities and Social Sciences funded by the Ministry of Education, one sub-project of the “Second Phase of the Country-Specific Study of African Higher Education” commissioned by the Ministry of Education, one Humanities and Social Sciences research project funded by the Provincial Department of Education, and two teaching and research projects also supported by the Provincial Department of Education.

北京师范大学教育学学士（学校教育专业）、管理学硕士（教育经济与管理专业）、教育学博士（教育史专业）。现任浙江师范大学教育学院教授，博士生导师。主要研究领域为外国教育史和比较高等教育。出版《冷战中的美国大学学术研究》、《摩洛哥高等教育研究》、《美国研究型大学“黄金时代”的形成与发展》、《自由社会中的教育：美国历程》、《美国研究型大学的兴起》、《撒哈拉非洲国家的教育、贫困和发展》等专著和译著，发表期刊论文四十余篇。主持全国教科规划国家一般课题一项、教育部人文社科研究青年基金课题和规划基金课题各一项、教育部委托课题“非洲高等教育国别研究工程二期”子课题一项、省教育厅人文社科研究课题一项、省教育厅教研课题两项。