The Challenges of Implementing a Humanising Pedagogy in Technical Vocational Education and Training Colleges in South Africa

Abstract

This article explores the challenges of implementing a humanising pedagogy in South Africa’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, with a focus on barriers to fostering critical consciousness and student empowerment. While grounded in Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, the study extends this framework by incorporating the capabilities approach, which emphasises education’s role in expanding freedoms and opportunities for human flourishing. Drawing on data from learning cycle group meetings—used both for data generation and critical reflection—the study identifies key structural, pedagogical, and socio-economic constraints. These include the rigid structure of the National Certificate (Vocational) (NC[V]) curriculum, insufficient teacher preparation for transformative pedagogies, and persistent inequalities that undermine student agency. By integrating Freirean praxis with the capabilities approach, the article calls for pedagogies that move beyond content delivery to support students’ well-being, aspirations, and agency. It argues that fostering epistemic justice and participatory learning in TVET can enhance students’ capabilities, equipping them not only with technical skills but also with the capacity to critically engage with and transform their socio-economic realities. The findings contribute to broader debates on socially just pedagogies and the developmental role of TVET.