Towards reclaiming the high ground in the discourse on vocationalism in developing countries

The literature on vocational education in developing countries has for decades been one of gloom, as commentators from the developed countries have offered arguments leading to the same conclusion, namely, that investment in the subject is futile. I contend that the reason why the discourse has been so predictable is epistemological rigidity—manifested in an unwillingness to accept work as a valid basis of knowledge. I offer a way to think about vocationalism that transcends familiar economic arguments and that instead point to more holistic attributes of the subject.