Rethinking Paulo Freire's Critical Pedagogy: Challenges and Relevance in South Africa's TVET Sector

Freire’s vision of education as a practice of freedom inspires transformation. However, the structural, pedagogical, and socio-economic realities of South Africa’s Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, compounded by discipline-driven academic biases, pose challenges to its practical application. This study employs a qualitative participatory action research approach to critically examine these challenges and explore the relevance of Freirean pedagogy in TVET. Fifteen National Certificate Vocational graduates from Gqeberha participated in learning cycle group meetings with a participatory visual research method (photographs), allowing for a rich engagement with their lived experiences. Thematic analysis, informed by Freirean critical pedagogy, was used to interpret data, centring on key themes such as critical consciousness, systemic oppression, and student agency. Findings highlight tensions between TVET’s dual mandate—to equip students for immediate employability while addressing socio-political disparities—and the feasibility of Freirean praxis in a system driven by economic imperatives. Despite these challenges, student-led reflections demonstrated the potential for incremental transformation through dialogical learning. This article advocates for a rethinking of Freirean pedagogy in TVET, calling for curriculum, policy, and pedagogical reforms that balance socio-economic constraints with the goal of fostering critical and emancipatory education.