This study is an important step towards a better understanding of the challenge of responsiveness in the new FET college sector. It attempts to show the interactions between four sets of players or systems in shaping the issue of responsiveness, namely:
learners, employers, colleges and labour markets.
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Crucially, it notes that all of these are differentiated and cannot be understood monolithically. This four-part understanding of the dynamics of responsiveness is an important step forward in analysis of the issue. However, it points to the need for ongoing research in this field. In particular, there is a pressing need to develop the concept of responsiveness further and to address other perspectives such as those of communities and college staff.
The research reported in this book makes a compelling case for a multifaceted research strategy for understanding responsiveness. Given the concerns we have raised about the perspectives of particular stakeholder groups, it is important to look at this complex issue from a number of viewpoints. Moreover, much of the argument has been about the need to locate the issue of responsiveness in multiple debates and contexts. However, it is clear that such an approach needs to be refined further. In particular, the flow of the research between different phases needs more attention, as does the low response rate of employers.
This study is part of a growing body of research on the FET college sector in South Africa. This is to be welcomed given the traditionally low status and attention given to such research (McGrath 2001). Colleges will struggle to move beyond the legacy of the past but it is clear that policy-makers, practitioners and researchers are strongly committed to making the new system work. It is to be hoped that research such as this can play a role in furthering this process and in building better bridges of understanding amongst these constituencies and with learners, communities and employers.
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