5.3 Pre- requirements to Study Automotive Mechanics
5.3.1 The Role of Science and Maths
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replicating the methods that their own instructors used when they were trained, or that they had picked up methods through observation from their peers who had had training in pedagogy. However, it might well be that these lecturers had, over time, identified their own repertoire of best methods which they used depending on the task at hand.
The context of the pedagogy used by a vocational lecturer cannot be divorced from the kinds of learners that the lecturer teaches. Accordingly, Lucas, Spencer and Claxton (2012) include the context in which vocational education takes place as influenced by who the learners who pursue VET are. Section 5.3 outlines who constitute the learners that study automotive mechanics.
5.3 Pre- requirements to Study Automotive Mechanics
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Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: MITC1 Date: 22 May 2015 We take even those who have not finished school…in secondary. Now some have Form 5.
Some are very slow in learning. We have to repeat things a lot. They can’t read. We let them do…many times. Some can’t read. We use vernacular. Others are fast. Last year we had 1 student, he couldn’t read. We would translate the tests, make them oral. Their skills at the end can be the same…but those who can’t read, they stay slow, they stay static - no new learning. They do the same things, don’t get better jobs, they can’t advance in school.
[He later continued]
We take even those who have not finished school…in secondary. Now some have Form 5.
Some are very slow in learning. We have to repeat things a lot. They can’t read. We let them do…many times. Some can’t read. We use vernacular. Others are fast. Last year we had 1 student, he couldn’t read. We would translate the tests, make them oral. Their skills at the end can be the same…but those who can’t read, they stay slow, they stay static - no new learning. They do the same things, don’t get better jobs, they can’t advance in school.
Meanwhile his colleague, MITC2, said:
Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: MITC2 Date: 27 July 2015 One should be able to do some little reading... but the policy here is that you can come and study even with no formal schooling but today it would be Standard 5 Form 3 or Form 5... Should be able to read and write. You speak to customers, so you should be able to talk to them. You should be able to read some specifications, but maybe some place can give you a job to do just engine reassembly only. But even that is difficult, you would end up doing wheels only, may be take them off, or remove the drums every day. You don’t handle the challenging parts. Today’s cars, you need to refer to the internet, see what the specifications of the car are in the internet, and attend to the car problems. If you can’t read, then you can’t do this.
He later commented, as if in frustration:
Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: MITC2 Date: 27 July 2015 One should be able to do some little reading, but the policy here is that you can come and study even with no formal schooling. But today it would be Standard 5 Form 3 or Form 5... Should be able to read and write. You speak to customers, so you should be able to talk to them. You should be able to read some specifications, but maybe some place can give you a job to do just engine reassembly only. But even that is difficult, you would end up doing wheels only, may be take them off, or remove the drums every day. You don’t handle the challenging parts. Today’s cars, you need to refer to the internet, see what the specifications of the car are in the internet, and attend to the car problems. If you can’t read, then you can’t do this.
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One particular day, during a practical assessment test called a phase test in which each student is expected to carry out a practical procedure in the workshop using out-of-car- parts, I observed a student using inside callipers to measure the inside bore of an engine block. After watching him measure the diameter 6 times at top and 6 times at the bottom to get an average of the both the top and bottom diameter and then work out the difference, I asked the lecturer if there was an easier way to measure the wear in the bore. He replied:
Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: MITC2 Date: 27 July 2015 One should be able to do some little reading, but the policy here is that you can come and study even with no formal schooling. But today it would be Standard 5 Form 3 or Form 5... Should be able to read and write. You speak to customers, so you should be able to talk to them. You should be able to read some specifications, but maybe some place can give you a job to do just engine reassembly only. But even that is difficult, you would end up doing wheels only, may be take them off, or remove the drums every day. You don’t handle the challenging parts. Today’s cars, you need to refer to the internet, see what the specifications of the car are in the internet, and attend to the car problems. If you can’t read, then you can’t do this.
These lecturers at the Manzini Industrial Training Centre – the only institution with no specific requirements for entry – faced with an institutional policy that does not provide for a specific pre-requirement for studying automotive mechanics, had to devise a curriculum that did not rely on maths and science, and sometimes English. This is not an easy task given that concepts in automotive mechanics are steeped in these. Theory of automotive mechanics hinges on these, hence the removal of theory and non-use of English suggests that some aspects of automotive mechanics were not effectively taught.
By his own admission, MITC1 said these students remained static, with no new learning, and that they ended up doing the same things or carrying out basic automotive repetitive procedures. If they did the ‘same things’ then they were only capable of carrying out a restricted aspect of automotive mechanics which does not meet the six outcomes of vocational education as outlined by Lucas et al. (2012). Consequently, they would have less chances of rising in the trade. As discussed earlier, Winch (2014) calls this concept where the development of practical abilities enables those who have undergone vocational training to rise to different higher order functions epistemic ascent. This will be discussed further in this chapter. MITC2 put this even more bluntly, saying that students need literacy in order to be able to read specifications and communicate with
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customers. Otherwise, he noted, “you will be doing wheels only”. The student who could not write is not on the path to becoming a mechanic as he would not be able to understand what he was learning.
The type of students studying automotive mechanics, and the removal of theory from the teaching at MITC, presented challenges that made it difficult to teach optimally and achieve the six outcomes outlined in the framework of Lucas et al. (2012). While it was not a focus of this study to determine specifically the socio-economic backgrounds of the automotive mechanics students or their level of achievement at secondary school, other research on who actually pursued vocational education, including a study conducted in Australia, indicates that those who studied at VET schools were likely to be from low socio-economic backgrounds (Barnett & Ryan, 2005). In the MITC context, the entry level of the students presented challenges in terms of what they were able to learn as some were slow, requiring the lecturer to repeat information many times. The lecturers gave examples of some of the challenges they experienced in this regard in their comments that the students could do the “wheels only”, the need for an automotive mechanic to use the internet to read specifications and the need to have a background in science and maths in order to use the micrometre. The question is at which of the six vocational outcomes of Lucas et al. (2012) does automotive mechanics training in Swaziland take place and what working competence is achieved? As shall be seen from the data, the first year lecturer pedagogy sought to achieve the vocational outcome of routine expertise. There however appeared to be restrictions in training towards outcomes like resourcefulness, functional literacies, craftsmanship, business-like attitudes and even wider skills for growth. These latter outcomes are integral to attaining working competence, and their limited pursuit at these institutions would compromise students’ vocational competence.
Four of the six participant lecturers, who were from the two institutions where maths and science were pre-requirements for studying automotive mechanics, were of the view that maths and science are necessary for learning automotive mechanics. I consider first the views of two automotive lecturers at the Swaziland College of Technology:
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Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: SCOT1 Date: 12 August 2015 Basically the requirements is 5 credits, including Science and Maths. You see the 5 credits is a requirement to get scholarship from government. For us really we need the credit in Science and Maths. English ...you just need a pass.
Why do you need Science and Maths?
You know these are key subjects to help you understand concepts in motor mechanics... or just engineering in general. You should have done well in Science and Maths. Here we do Calculus. You can’t do Calculus if your Maths was bad.
Why do you do calculus?
For further learning you do need Calculus. You see your future should not be limited. So if one day you have a chance to do a degree, you can do it. Not many end up doing degrees, even HND, in Swaziland. But you see if the chance comes for one person, that person should be able to take up further study.
Which work requires calculations in a car?
Assembling an engine. There are torques, and there are clearances, where you can’t use the naked eye. You need specific tools and Mathematics for the engine to work efficiently.
SCOT1 was clear on the need for science and mathematics as these, he said, are key to understanding concepts in automotive mechanics. A student will need a good background in maths to be able to do calculus at the college, and calculus is key to opening up chances to do further study to degree level – for those few who will ever have that chance come their way. Again, Winch (2006; 2012; 2014) has relevance here. Even when working with a car there are torques and clearances that require mathematics.
His colleague, SCOT2, expressed this view:
Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: SCOT2 Date: 13 August 2015 You need some background in Science and Maths, but really to be an automotive mechanic you don’t necessarily need to have got credits in these. I don’t believe that just because maybe you were sick when you sat your exam - and did not get a credit in Maths - then it means you can’t study motor mechanics. If you have done some Science and Maths, you should be ok.
But are there no written down requirements for one to apply to study motor mechanics at SCOT?
Yes, the Science and Maths. Even when you design you need to base your design on Science principle. But even then should they be good credits? There’s a grey area there. If I failed Maths does it mean I can’t be an engineer? I can get a pass but have passion for Science and Maths, and one with a credit, does not have the passion. You may find that the one with the lowest pass in Science and Maths becomes the best engineer.
102 Can that really happen?
You must follow these guys in industry. You find that the one who was not so good in Maths and Science is the best engineer. He is the best hands on; the other one with exceptional credits in Maths and Science is just thinking and doing the designs. The hands on guy is the one who runs and maintains the hands on day to day operations in the workshop.
SCOT2 believed that maths and science are necessary as automotive mechanics is based on scientific principles. For him a working knowledge of science and maths is fine, and there is no need for credits. With a working knowledge of maths and science a student may eventually become a good hands-on engineer, while the ‘whizz kid’ of maths and science is just thinking and doing the designs. This again resonates with Winch (2014)’s theory of epistemic ascent.
Now for a look at perspectives at the third institution, Gwamile VOCTIM:
Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: VOCTIM1 Date: 27 July 2015 To be a mechanic you may just need to be literate… I mean be able to read and understand things. Some mechanics did not spend even 7 years in school. Here we have Form 5 requirement. This is different …it makes it easier to train these people. They are not to be just mechanics. They need elements of understanding how things work. Some of them will rise to be supervisors. They will run their own garages. They must be able to do further study. Some will need to study HR. Form 5 gives them the base to rise in the trade or to stay if they don’t want to rise. Modern cars are complex. Mechanics now need to have more knowledge, and read books.
Though VOCTIM1 made no specific mention of maths and science, which was a requirement at the institution, he reiterated the importance of literacy to read and understand “how things work” in order for students to be able to rise through the ranks to be supervisors and to do further study – as well as to be able to deal with changes in technology with respect to the complex mechanics of modern cars. His mention of the increasing complexity of cars and the greater demands that this places on mechanics points to the need for training programmes to include subjects such as maths and science which will equip them with the knowledge to cope with increasing degrees of complexity.
103 VOCTIM2 put it as follows:
Transcription of interview
Lecturer number: VOCTIM2 Date: 27 July 2015 The car is becoming complicated. Form 5 is necessary. Cars use sensors… some consumables are dangerous, for example gases. We sometimes use gases. Maths and science is necessary in the entry requirements. You need to calculate, like this size of cylinder head should give so much power - that requires calculation. You need science to understand e.g. the properties of material, maybe under heat or after cooling.
In his view, maths and science are at the core of understanding the work of an automotive mechanic as it involves the use of sensors, calculations and scientific principles governing how the different parts of a car functions.
Regardless of whether they were from an institution that included maths and science as pre-requirements for automotive mechanics or excluded them, all six lecturers saw the role of these two subjects as fundamental to a proper understanding of automotive mechanics, and as critical for opening avenues for students to progress to supervisory positions or continue their studies further.