Influence of different learning environments in the implementation of technical vocational education and training policy in Nigeria

Abstract

Technical vocational education and training (TVET) are seen as an important tool in economic growth and poverty reduction in many developing countries. There is evidence that creating a work environment and duplicating the industries equipment in the TVET institutions is costly and pushed the budget high and cannot be afforded by the government. This lead to vocational education to be done in an academic setting, working on fictional tasks that are not in line with daily real work tasks. Although the influence of the learning environment on TVET policy implementation has been reported, little is known on the perspective of school leaders in the use of different learning environments. The study aims to understand the combination of different types of learning and learning environments influence the implementation of TVET policy. The study is based on a semi-structured qualitative interview with nine school leaders in TVET institutions in Nigeria. The study used thematic analysis to analyze the data and NVIVO qualitative data analysis software to organize the data. The paper and pencil coding method was also used for the analysis. The study finds out that combining different types of learning and learning environment may contribute to the effective implementation of TVET policy and increase the employability of TVET graduates. From the perspective of the school leaders combining different types of learning and learning environments will facilitate job-ready graduates. The results of the study should be used to guide the implementation of TVET policy and facilitate the combination of learning environments.