Technical education in Namibia: past trends, present circumstances and future prospects

[摘要] English: The emergence of technological education as an integral component of general education hasbecome a significant international curriculum development of recent years. Its distinctivecurriculum features are technological literacy and capability and it highlights the importance of'applied knowledge, 'doing, 'technological understanding and 'problem solving.Technological education at international level is growing in value and it is utilised to increaseemployability levels among school-leavers through involving businesses and industries from theprivate sector in activities such as syllabus design and material support. Against this background,the research study investigated the character, value and relevancy of technological education inNamibia over several decades.The first phase of this study comprises a comprehensive overview of the literature ontechnological education at national and international levels. A study of technological educationin various countries and specifically Germany, a previous colonial ruler of Namibia, identifiedthe following characteristics:�?The status and value of technological education is very high and is considered as avehicle for the attainment of economic prosperity and to decrease unemployment.�?The private sector provides financial, material and moral support to technologicaleducation, for example the design of syllabi at school level.�?Technological education improves the technological knowledge and skills of learners thatenable them to get employment or become self-employed more easily.The second phase involved research by means of questionnaires and interviews. The twostructured questionnaires were administered to samples of 126 learners and 26 teachersrespectively at technical secondary schools. Interviews were held with knowledgeable Namibianeducators about the prevalence of current technical education in Namibia. The informationgathered from the literature and the results of the questionnaires and interviews providedevidence that the status of technological education in Namibia had declined to such an extent dueto neglect, that a new approach to technical education, namely technological education, isrequired. Some of the major findings are the following: �?Before independence Namibians were denied the opportunity to design technicaleducation programmes as South African education programmes were used.�?The South African-based technical education did not consider local economic realitiesand employment demands although it was of a good standard, equalling that of SouthAfrica.�?After independence Namibians were given opportunities to design technical educationprogrammes.�?Local technical education programmes were developed according to perceived needs andnot to scientifically established economic and industrial needs.�?There is evidence of poor quality at the various levels of technical education, resulting inlearners leaving schools with theoretical knowledge but without practical capabilitiesand entrepreneurial skills.�?Poor planning procedures for technical education resulted in inadequate budgets whichcaused equipment to deteriorate and insufficient materials.In view of these findings, recommendations are made in order for appropriate technologicaleducation to be designed properly and implemented effectively. Firstly, the status and value oftechnological education among Namibians need to be improved. Secondly, relevant technicaleducation programmes that encompass purposes, content, processes, contexts and structures,which communities will be able to see as part of the school curriculum, need to be designed.Thirdly, the private sector must be involved in technological education. Finally, the ultimatevalue of this study is the contribution to the design and implementation of an appropriatetechnical education model which adds to the overall development of Namibia as a peaceful andeconomically vibrant country.

[发布机构] University of the Free State