Bio

Lesley Powell is an Associate Professor in the Adult Community Education and Training stream at the UCT School of Education. Her scholarship has largely focused on Vocational Education and Training (VET), with her theoretical interest being the ways in which learning and skills can intervene in poverty and particularly the ways in which it can advance the conditions for meaningful and sustainable livelihoods. She has published on VET from human development and social justice perspectives, and, more recently, on skills and the informal sector, applying a social skills lens. Her supervision has focused largely on Vocational Education and Training, where she has supervised to success Masters and PhD students.

Publications

Books 

• Powell, L., & McGrath, S. (2019). In Skills for Human Development: Transforming Vocational Education and Training (pp. 1–20). Oxon and New York: Routledge.
• Powell, L. (2019, Section Ed). Skills for Sustainable Human Development in McGrath, S., Mulder, M., Papier, J., & Suart, R. (Eds.). Springer Handbook on Education and a Changing World. New York, Springer. 
• Powell, L., & Harrison-Train, C. (2003). Working Partnerships: Higher Education, Industry and Innovation: Government Incentivisation of Higher Education Industry Research Partnerships in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press. 

Journal articles and chapters

• Maluleke, L., Powell, L., & Pillay, S. (2022). Exploring the value of a sociological careership theory in the South African TVET context. Journal of Vocational and Community Education and Training (JOVACET), 5 (1), 15.
• Powell, L. (2021). Planning for freedom: From human capital to human capabilities. Journal of Education, (84), 85–105. 
• McGrath, S., Powell, L., Alla-Mensah, J., Hilal, R., & Suart, R. (2020). New VET theories for new times: the critical capabilities approach to vocational education and training and its potential for theorising a transformed and transformational VET. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 6, 1–22.
• Papier, J., Powell, L., McBride, T., & Needham, S. (2019). Tracing the pathways of National Accredited Technical Education Diploma (NATED) programme graduates through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and beyond. In M. Rogan (Ed.), Post-school education and the labour market in South Africa (pp. 165–184). Cape Town: HSRC Press.
• McGrath, S., & Powell, L. (2016). Skills for sustainable development: Transforming vocational education and training beyond 2015. International Journal of Educational Development, 50, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.05.006
• Powell, L., & McGrath, S. (2014). Advancing life projects: South African students explain why they come to FET colleges. Journal of International and Comparative Education, 3(2), 213–226. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.14425/00.73.63
• Powell, L. (2013). A critical assessment of research on South African further education and training colleges. Southern African Review of Education, 19(1), 59–81.
• Powell, L. (2012). Reimagining the purpose of VET – Expanding the capability to aspire in South African Further Education and Training students. International Journal of Educational Development, 32(5), 643–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.01.008

Research Projects

• The Youth Lived Livelihoods Project (2018-2020). This merSETA funded study involved a two year panel study in which the living, working and learning experiences of forty youth who make their livelihood in the informal sector was tracked over two years. 
• As part of a consortium of partners lead by IPSS at UWC, together with Nelson Mandela University (NMU) she is leading three components of this large scale DHET TVET Colleges Research Study (ongoing). The three components are: (i) The factors affecting TVET College students academic success, (ii) TVET College students experiences of NSFAS and (iii) The demand (applications rate) for TVET as compared to the enrolment. 
• An assets audit of TVET Colleges Occupational Programmes (ongoing). Funded by the HSRC and undertaken in partnership with NMU, this project seeks to better understand the occupational programmes offered by TVET colleges and the ways in which these might be modified for the informal sector. 
• The Putting Skills to Work: Skills and the Informal Sector Project (ongoing). Funded by the NIHSS and undertaken in partnership with NMU, the project aims to develop a scholarly community engaged in better understanding the education and training needs of post school youth who make their livelihoods (or parts thereof) working in the informal sector. The output is two edited books. The one has an international and theoretical thrust and will be published by Routledge. The other is more local and will be published by the Human Sciences Research Council.