NN46, September 2011
Towards a New Global World of Skills Development? TVET's turn to Make its Mark
Capability or Employability? Rethinking the Role of VET Within a Capabilities Framework
By Lesley Powell, University of Nottingham, Nottingham
Email: lesleyjpowell@gmail.com
Keywords: Capabilities approach; capability approach; Vocational Education and Training; TVET
Summary: The capability approach challenges the dominance of neoliberal conceptions that emphasize economic rationales for human resource development and employability as the foremost purpose of education and training. By recognising work, as only one aspect – albeit an important aspect – of human life and human wellbeing, it provides a strong argument for a conceptualising the contribution of VET more broadly than that provided by employability.
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The capabilities approach has a significant contribution to make to our conceptualisation of vocational education and training (VET). Its value lies in its commitments to social justice, human wellbeing, freedom, development and human agency and in its practical emphasis on what people are actually able to do and be. Developed by economist, Amartya Sen, and further developed by philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, the capabilities approach provides a comprehensive framework for conceptualising the quality of life and wellbeing of individuals with the central commitment being the dignity of each person.
In opposition to neoliberalism, it extends notions of development from that of economic growth and income generation to a notion of freedom which extends beyond income generation to include political participation, social engagement and the freedom to reflexively choose how to live one’s life. Development in the capability approach is about expanding the opportunities that people have for living a life of value and removing substantial unfreedoms which limit “what a person is able to do or be” (Sen, 2005: p.153). In this broader notion of development, growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) represents the means rather than the end of developmental goals which, according to Sen (1999), should focus on the expansion of human freedom. History has shown that an increase in GDP – and particularly in the absence of associated social and political programmes – does not in and of itself alleviate poverty or improve human lives as income and wealth are unequally distributed across societies and unevenly allocated within families (Dreze and Sen, 1995; Sen, 1989).
Shifting the focus from economic production and economic growth to a focus on human wellbeing suggests a broader role for VET to that depicted in education and training policy where education and training are expected to contribute to provide the skills and aptitudes required for economic growth and simultaneously to contribute to social justice by increasing participation in programmes targeted at employability. In contrast to these human capital and employability approaches which emphasize the working life of individuals, the capability approach emphasizes human capability, the opportunities that individuals have for agency and choice. A connection exists between human capital and human capability in that human capital focuses on the agency of human beings in relation to their ability to augment productive processes and human capability focuses on the agency of people to live the life that they have reason to valu. While the two approaches are intimately connected, as both refer to aspects of being human, human capital and employability refer to only those aspects utilized in production and as such exist as a narrower concept to human capabilities which include all aspects necessary for human fulfilment. As such, employability should be understood as a subset – an important subset, but only one subset – within the broader notion of human capabilities.
This locks into an old and rather resilient debate on what constitutes the good in VET with liberal educators arguing for the intrinsic aims of personal development and self-fulfillment and vocational educators arguing for education which focuses on the instrumental goal of preparing students for the world of work (Lewis, 1994). In terms of this debate, supporters of liberal education would argue that “it creates ‘general human capital’ which is portable across continents and work contexts” (Oketch, 2007: p.221). Supporters of vocational education, on the other hand, have argued that vocational education creates ‘specific human capital’ which prepares workers to competently handle specific job functions. The divide between liberal and vocational education has been rather starkly presented here to highlight the extreme poles of the debate. This is in contrast to recent thought which stresses the mutuality of the two forms of education and argues that liberal education and vocational components exist along a continuum with a shift away from facilitating job-entry to one that enables “vocational-specific skills over a lifetime” (Oketch, 2007: p.220) – that is, the individual’s employability.
The focus in the capability approach of marrying intrinsic, instrumental and transformative goals in education in a manner that expands the capabilities set of students, not simply the skills and competencies, is an important one for VET. While the expansion of capabilities certainly includes what Bonvin and Galster (2010) describe as ‘the capability for work’, the “bettering of a human life does not have to be justified by showing that a person with a better life is also a better producer” (Dreze and Sen, 1995: p.184).
Walker (2008), speaking of the value of the capabilities approach for higher education, indicates that “these are attractive ideas”, but what are the implications for the practical and everyday functioning of education. The capabilities approach is similarly attractive for VET, if not more so than for higher education, as it challenges through its commitment to human wellbeing the dominance of neoliberal conceptions that emphasize economic rationales as the foremost purpose of education and training. But what are the implications for the practical functioning of VET?
During interviews undertaken with 20 South African Further Education and Training (FET) college students and graduates, participants described the personal gains of attending the FET college. While students spoke of the skills and attitudes that prepare them for work, they spoke longer and with greater passion about the role played in enabling self-respect and respect by family and community members and about the hopes that it would enable respect in future workplaces. Further, many of the participants felt that their vision of the possibilities for their lives had expanded during their time at the college with the institution encouraging this ‘capability to aspire’. The majority (70%) of the participants were hoping to study further either full-time after graduating from the college, or part-time while working. Some of the graduates were already enrolled at higher education institutions or undertaking further study at the college. For VET to suit the needs of these students clear (and visible) progression paths into higher education have to exist and education needs to ensure that the respect, so important to students, is emphasised in the pedagogy of teaching and learning.
The capabilities approach, supported by these empirical findings, hints at a broader role for VET which includes the instrumental importance of developing basic literacy and numeracy and providing the knowledge and skills necessary for economic opportunities, but also includes the intrinsic value of education as an achievement in its own right for human fulfillment and the empowerment and distributive importance that it plays in enabling individuals to engage in debate, organise politically and resist oppression. This is not to neglect or ignore the importance of employment in poverty alleviation, but it is to stress the limitations of making employability and income generation the singular goal of development strategies and, thereby, the sole priority for VET systems and, also the limitations for poverty alleviation and human development of doing so.
References
Bonvin, J. and Galster, D. (2010) 'Making them Employable or Capable?', in Education, Welfare and the Capabilities Approach, eds. H. Otto & H. Ziegler, Barbara Budrich Publishers, Opladen & Farmington Hills.
Dreze, J. & Sen, A. K. (1995) India, economic development and social opportunity, Oxford University Press. Dreze and Sen, 2002
Hodkinson, P. (1991) Liberal Education and the New Vocationalism: a progressive partnership? Oxford Review of Education, 17(1), 73-88..
Lewis, T. (1994) Bridging the liberal/vocational divide: An examination of recent British and American versions of an old debate. Oxford Review of Education, 20(2), 199-217.
Oketch, M. (2007) To vocationalise or not to vocationalise? Perspectives on current trends and issues in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 27(2), 220-234.
Powell, L. (2011) 'The Value of the Capabilities Approach for VET - The 'Capability to Aspire'', Paper to be presented in UKFIET 2011.
Sen, A. (1989) 'Development as capability expansion', Journal of Development planning, vol. 19, pp. 41-58.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sen, A. (2005). Human rights and capabilities. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 6(2), 151-166.
Walker, M. (2008). A human capabilities framework for evaluating student learning. Teaching in Higher Education, 13(4), 477-487.
Young, M. & Gamble, J. 2006, Knowledge, Curriculum and Qualifications for South African Further Education, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria.
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Cite article as: Powell, L., (2011) ‘Capability or Employability? Rethinking the Role of VET Within a Capabilities Framework’, in NORRAG NEWS, Towards a New Global World of Skills Development? TVET's turn to Make its Mark, No.46, September 2011, pp. 26-29, available: http://www.norrag.org
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