Learning informally: A case for arts in vocational education and training in Uganda
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ENGAGE
Abstract
This paper advocates for the inclusion of the arts
in vocational learning programs in Uganda as
an integrated form of holistic learning oriented
towards empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Using community-based research in the context
of vocational education and training, our data
emerged from open-ended interviews, focus
groups and youth-led radio talk shows with
stakeholders from public and private sectors,
instructors, artists, and Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs). Three significant themes
arose from the data collected. First, pathways
available to learners to become artists are limited
by increasing neoliberal orientations towards
education. Second, there is a thriving informal
youth-led arts community in northern Uganda
empowering young artists to pursue the arts as a
livelihood. Third, the arts are socially
delegitimated. That is, without ways for learners
to generate income from the arts, they are not
able to devote their time to learning through the
arts, and their artistic endeavors are not
recognized as important skills in their
communities or in society. Although different,
these three themes demonstrate that there is a
vibrant space in the informal sector of arts to
inform professional practices, that if supported
by vocational education and training, have the
potential to become important and much needed
professional careers in Uganda.
Description
Keywords
Arts education, Vocational training, Indigenous education, Informal learning, Arts employment
Citation
Ladaah, M. G. O., Openjuru, G. L., Sanford, K., de Oliveira Jayme, B., & Monk, D. (2022). Learning Informally: A Case for Arts Learning in Vocational Education and Training in Uganda. ENGAGE!, 4(1), 17-29.