Inclusion of youth with disabilities in technical and vocational education and training in Zimbabwe: Stakeholder perspectives

Introduction: Across Africa, youth with disabilities face significant barriers to enrolment and participation in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and to accessing employment. Despite progressive policy and legislative frameworks in Zimbabwe, limited resources hinder progress. This study explored barriers and facilitators to inclusion of youth with disabilities in TVET in Zimbabwe and how institutional processes shape participation. Methodology: An institutional ethnography (IE) was used, drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s 1979 Ecological Systems Theory and the chronosystem. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 stakeholders relevant to the study identified through snowballing. Data were analysed using the IE’s four passes. The alignment between Listening Guide (LG) and IE principles, data analysis was operationalised through the LG: listening for the plot, listening for the voice of the ‘I’, listening for contrapuntal voices, and composing an analysis. Results: Findings suggest a cyclical pattern in which policy and funding gaps lead TVET programmes to rely on informal support from learners, families, peers, instructors, and non-governmental organisations, shifting inclusion responsibilities away from formal systems. Without social safety nets, family socio-economic status significantly influences access and participation. Inclusion thus emerges as a dynamic process in which local actors navigate gaps between policy and resource-constrained realities. Chronosystem-level analysis reveals that historical policy shifts, cumulative exclusion from education, and TVET-to-employment transitions further compound these dynamics. Conclusion: The study demonstrates how institutional processes across multiple levels shape inclusive TVET. Resource limitations lead programmes to rely on the emotional and practical support of peers and instructors to fill capacity gaps which can inform context-responsive TVET policies and programmes in low- and middle-income settings. Chronosystem analysis also reflects how temporal transitions and historical policy trajectories shape inclusion over time. Implications for practice · There is a need to strengthen TVET institutions’ capacity for vocational profiling to reshape processes that limit youth to basic courses despite their aspirations. · There is a need to conduct participatory accessibility audits and use findings to develop suitable assistive technologies, thus shifting support from untrained individuals to institutional infrastructure. · TVET institutions need to raise awareness among employers and coordinate with them to ensure that workplaces are accessible and inclusive.