Abstract
This article examines the pedagogical transformation generated by dual apprenticeship training and its impact on the Benin crafts sector. Dual training combines vocational education at training centres with on-the-job training in workshops during the week. Graduates of this programme receive a certificate of professional qualification (Certificat de Qualification Professionnelle – CQP). For this qualitative research, the authors visited 7 training centres and 39 workshops to make direct observations. Using a life-history approach, they conducted formal and informal interviews with craftspeople and semi-structured interviews with CQP graduates, non-CQP graduates, professional association personnel, training centre staff and CQP trainers. This research was carried out in Parakou, the most important city in central and northern Benin. In total, 96 individuals were interviewed, using purposive selection to pick actors from professional associations, convenience sampling with non-CQP graduates and snowball sampling to reach other participants. The study is underpinned by social change theory, with an emphasis on the factors and agents of change. The research findings indicate that dual training has a favourable impact on skills development, competency transfer and job performance in the crafts sector. CQP graduates benefit from both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise gained during their training. Those who succeed in finding a job or even setting up their own workshop contribute to building a competence-based approach to apprenticeships and stand out in the competitive labour market. Craftspeople who are unable to stand out in the labour market face employment insecurity. The majority of the CQP graduates interviewed had developed high self-esteem and were proud of their valuable knowledge and their ability to deliver high-quality services to satisfied clients. This also affected their relationship with older generations of craftspeople in terms of contradictions in the execution of specific tasks in occupations.
Résumé
« Transformation pédagogique » du système d’apprentissage à travers une approche par compétence dans le secteur de l’artisanat au Bénin – Cet article examine les transformations pédagogiques générées par la mise en œuvre d’une formation par apprentissage de type dual et leur impact sur le secteur artisanal au Bénin. Cette formation duale consiste à combiner la formation professionnelle offerte dans des centres et la formation initiale en ateliers de maîtres artisans en cours de la semaine. Les bénéficiaires de ce programme reçoivent un diplôme dénommé Certificat de Qualification Professionnelle (CQP). Pour conduire cette recherche qualitative, les auteurs ont effectué des visites sur 7 centres de formation et sur 39 ateliers de maîtres artisans pour des observations directes. En utilisant la technique du récit de vie au moyen des entretiens libres avec maîtres artisans, les auteurs ont également interviewé des diplômés CQP, des apprentis non-CQP, des responsables d’associations d’artisans et de centres de formation, et des formateurs grâce à des entretiens semi-structurés. La recherche a été réalisée à Parakou, la plus grande ville des régions du Centre et Nord Bénin. Au total, 96 personnes ont été prises en compte, utilisant l’échantillonnage par choix raisonné pour sélectionner les responsables d’associations, l'échantillonnage par convenance pour les diplômés non-CQP et la boule de neige pour retrouver les autres participants. La recherche s’appuie sur la théorie du changement social, portant sur les facteurs et agents du changement pour interpréter les résultats. Les résultats montrent que cette formation duale a un impact positif sur le développement des compétences de métiers, leur transfert et le rendement au travail. Les diplômés CQP jouissent des connaissances théoriques et des compétences pratiques obtenues durant la formation. Ceux qui ont réussi à travailler ou à installer leurs propres ateliers, contribuent à l’amélioration des dispositifs d’apprentissage avec l’utilisation de l’approche par compétence. De même, ces diplômés CQP arrivent à tirer leur épingle du jeu sur un marché du travail compétitif. Les artisans qui n’arrivent pas à s’en sortir sur le marché du travail se retrouvent dans une insécurité d’emploi. La plupart des diplômés CQP développe un fort potentiel d’estime de soi et leur fierté quant à leurs connaissances et capacités à fournir de meilleure qualité de services aux clients. Une telle situation a affecté toutefois, leurs relations avec les anciens maîtres artisans en termes de contradictions sur l’exécution des tâches spécifiques à leurs métiers.
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Notes
The entrance ceremony for new apprentices consists of the master craftsperson’s blessing of her/his new apprentices to pray that they have a good training journey which they will complete with success. The ceremony usually includes some water and sweet drink or honey to symbolise peace and conviviality throughout the duration of the training.
Children in Benin enter primary school (which lasts 6 years) when they are six years old, and later progress to lower (4 years) and upper (3 years) secondary school. Basic education is compulsory up to the age of 15, and includes primary school, lower secondary school, adult education and apprenticeships (Adekou 2019, pp. 13–14). Enrolment in public primary schools in Benin is free for both girls and boys. Students who pursue their primary education in private schools pay school fees. In February 2023, the government made a fee exemption for female students enrolled in secondary education.
The Hanns Seidel Foundation is a non-profit political research organisation based in Germany. For more information, visit https://westafrica.hss.de/benin/ [accessed 20 July 2023].
For more information, visit https://www.swisscontact.org/en/countries/benin [accessed 20 July 2023].
Their dedicated webpage is at https://cete.osu.edu/?s=DACUM [accessed 17 July 2023].
The interviews were conducted mostly in French and in some cases in Fongbé, the most widely spoken national language in Benin. They were translated into English for the purposes of this article.
At the time of drafting this article, the conversion rate was roughly 1 USD = 554 XOF.
The participant is referring to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) (UIS 2012).
The Certificate of Professional Aptitude or Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle (CAP) is a certificate that is equivalent to the grade 11 after completing the first cycle of technical high school in Benin.
The Certificate of Higher Secondary Education or Diplôme de Technicien Industriel (DTI) is a diploma received after completing the second cycle of technical high school.
An approximate English translation of the Kiswahili word undungu is brotherhood, or “like family”. For more information about the Undugu Society of Kenya (USK), visit https://undugusociety.org/about-us/ [accessed 21 July 2023].
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for financing the LELAM TVET4INCOME project research under which this research was conducted. We are grateful for the input and logistical support of Dr Ursula Renold, Principal Investigator of the LELAM project. We thank the Benin team of the LELAM TVET4INCOME project, especially Dr Esaïe Gandonou for his contribution in improving the article, Dr Guy Sourou Nouatin for his contribution in preparing the manuscript, Dr Sylvain Kpenavoun and Ambroise Houedou for their verbal support. Finally, we thank staff of the head of Department of TVET (DETFP), the Fund for the Development of Continuing Vocational Education and Apprenticeship (FODEFCA), donors’ agencies, staff of professional associations, craftspeople and apprentices for their readiness to act as interview partners.
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Bankolé, A.R., Nouatin, G.S. & Gandonou, E. “Pedagogical transformation” of apprenticeships through a competence-based approach in the Benin crafts sector. Int Rev Educ 69, 401–423 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10023-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10023-z