Learning for livelihoods in the global South: theoretical and methodological lenses on skills and the informal sector

Abstract

This edited volume explores how youth and informal sector workers in the Global South are pioneering learning and livelihoods that exist at the intersections of, and beyond, the boundaries of the state, market, and other formal institutions. Underpinned by research undertaken in the Global South, this book discusses how we might better theorize, conceptualize, and critique what skills and vocational education and training mean for young people with diverse livelihoods - people who rely substantially on the informal and social economy. Rather than envisioning education and skills as oriented towards profit-making or increased productivity, chapters offer fresh perspectives that move beyond the dominant neoliberal and human capital orthodoxies. This book features chapters that are global in approach, uses case studies from contexts as diverse as India, South Africa, West Africa, and Colombia, and focuses on how education can be used to empower people, strengthen livelihoods, and expand human agency, skills, personal growth, and the capability for voice.