Reimagining TVET in South Africa: student agency, conscientisation, and a Freirean pedagogy of transformation

This article advances a Freirean framework that centres social justice, transformation, and student agency in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). It critiques dominant human capital and productivist paradigms that narrowly define TVET by labour market demands. Drawing on Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy, the article calls for a shift towards inclusive, participatory, and emancipatory approaches to TVET research and practice. The study explores the perspectives of fifteen graduates from TVET colleges in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Using a Freirean lens and participatory methodology, data were generated through life narrative interviews and Learning Cycle Group meetings, which created dialogical spaces for students to critically reflect on their educational journeys, name challenges, and propose alternatives to dominant discourses. By engaging students as co-researchers, the study generates grounded insights while fostering critical consciousness and empowerment. The integration of Freirean principles and Participatory Action Research contributes to building equitable, student-centred TVET spaces. This article offers a transformative framework for reimagining TVET beyond the narrow provision of technical skills towards a more holistic model rooted in human development, meaningful participation, and democratic engagement. It aims to reposition TVET as a site of possibility for social change and collective transformation.