Empowerment in internships in Technical Vocational Education in Burkina Faso

Abstract

In Technical vocational education at Baraka, a school from C.RE.D.O. in Burkina Faso, research is done to see if empowerment occurs in internships. This is done to improve the transition of an education to other studies or looking for jobs. The literature shows that there are control variables on three dimensions of empowerment that contribute to empowerment, the intrapersonal, the interactional and the behavioral dimension. The results of the research show that especially the control variables of the interactional dimension are visible in the content and setup of the internships. Control variables of the other dimensions are scarcely visible. Nevertheless, the students noted they did feel empowered by the internship. Possible explanations for this are: the student discovered, due to the internship, that he has a privileged position in Burkina Faso and he was affirmed in his competences during the internship.