Using participatory action research to improve vocational skills training for marginalised youth in Uganda: Experiences from an early school-leavers' project

Cuthbert Tukundane*, Jacques Zeelen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
356 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Although vocational education and training is considered to be a good option for improving livelihood opportunities for marginalised youth in developing countries, it often suffers from an image problem. This situation affects the quality of entrants, instruction and skills acquisition in training programmes. In this article, the researchers report on results and experiences from a participatory action research (PAR) project initiated to work towards the improvement of vocational education and skills training for early school-leavers. The research project was conducted in Mbarara district, south-western Uganda. The results show that the project created an awareness and change of attitude on the part of participants towards vocational education and training. It also established links between training institutions and employers; that is, between the skills supply and demand sides. Based on experiences and reflections from this project, the researchers argue that PAR can be a productive approach for facilitating skills development in vocational education and training.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)246-261
Number of pages16
JournalInternational Journal of Training Research
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Keywords

  • Early school-leavers
  • Marginalised youth
  • Participatory action research
  • Skills development
  • Uganda
  • Vocational education and training

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