“Give courage to the ladies”: Expansive apprenticeship for women in rural Malawi

Apprenticeship in developed and industrialised nations is increasingly understood and practised as learning which connects workplace activity and formal study. The concept of 'expansive apprenticeship' defines frameworks for workforce development where participants acquire knowledge and skills which will help them in the future as well as in their current roles; 'restrictive' apprenticeships limit opportunities for wider, lifelong learning. In developing world economies, apprenticeships are a traditional route to learning and employment, but tend to reflect a restrictive approach characterised by narrowly defined roles and weak educational outcomes. This paper examines the apprenticeship opportunities in a large scale Access to Teaching Scholarship in Malawi. The programme's study materials and support structures are designed to move participants from restrictive to expansive contexts for learning and to develop hybrid roles as students, community workers and apprentice teachers. The authors examine data from the first cohort of participants and consider the extent to which the Scholarship offers an innovative model of expansive apprenticeship to address barriers to female continuing education and chronic teacher shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa. © 2013 Copyright The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.