Being a vocational educator: a guide for lecturers in FET colleges
This guide is about enabling craftspeople (those qualified in particular vocations as say plumbers, electricians, etc.) to develop the skills and knowledge required to successfully fill the roles that are necessary for a vocational educator and to thus shift the emphasis from vocational identification to identification as a vocational educator. It is intended to assist the educator to understand why and how a particular strategy, method, or idea is useful, and not to just be a "how to" manual of tips. Yet it is at the same time intended to be relevant at all times to the context and practice of the vocational educator, offering realistic exemplars and demonstrating approaches and methods for implementation.
The guide contains the following chapters:
Chapter 1: focuses on contextualising vocational education and training (VET) in South Africa
Chapter 2: consists of five case studies that illustrate some of the typical conditions and dilemmas that lecturers face in the further education and training (FET) college environment, including some of the problems experienced, and some of the ways that lecturers engage creatively with them
Chapter 3: explores some ways in which people learn
Chapter 4: seeks to understand what we mean when we talk about "curriculum" and to appreciate the complexity of curriculum, in particular, to understand the tension between curriculum planning and practice. It explores different approaches to curriculum design and identifies how social and political changes influence curriculum
Chapter 5: takes account of the central importance of assessment for teaching and learning, and considers ways of integrating assessment with teaching and learning that focus on learning goals.
