Blended learning as a means of opening up learning at Northlink TVET College in South Africa

Blended learning has become a critical element in the ensemble of learning and teaching approaches in post-school education and training (PSET) as a means to provide flexible and pedagogically inclusive education. With the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa calling for increased open learning initiatives, many Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are responding through ICT-mediated adaptations of their learning and teaching approaches, such as blended learning. Northlink TVET College in Cape Town, the top performer in South Africa in the 2018 final National Certificate Vocational (NCV) examination results and well-known for its blended learning initiatives, was chosen to showcase its flexible and inclusive pedagogical approaches. This case study employed a qualitative approach that used in-depth interviews and a focus group with the college’s Education and Training Unit manager, two lecturers, and six students to explore the blended learning initiative and practices at the college. This was to interrogate the ways in which the blended learning initiatives were informed by open learning principles, and the extent to which this mode of learning provision at the college can be deemed to be, using Fraser’s (2005) critical theory for analysis, socially just. Findings indicate that explicit accommodations in the pedagogical design and implementation of blended learning were made by the college to ameliorate certain financial and political injustices often experienced by students and staff. However, significant strides are yet to be taken to address certain cultural injustices. This study holds the potential to inspire teaching and learning practices and blended learning provision at the college and other PSET institutions, in realisation of the open learning agenda. Recommendations for both the college and DHET have been made.