A Theoretical Framework for Decolonising Vocational and Technical Education Curriculum in Nigeria

This study develops a theoretical framework for decolonising the vocational and technical education curriculum in Nigeria. Post-colonial scholarship has increasingly highlighted the extent to which Nigerian educational content, structures, and epistemologies remain shaped by colonial legacies that marginalise indigenous knowledge, prioritise Western industrial paradigms, and disconnect learners from culturally embedded productive skills. Despite decades of curriculum reform, vocational education in Nigeria continues to reproduce imported occupational frameworks that are poorly aligned with local economic realities. This study employs a critical theoretical methodology, drawing on decolonial theory, African philosophy of education, and indigenous knowledge systems literature to deconstruct current curriculum assumptions. Documentary analysis of extant vocational curricula, historical curriculum policy documents, and comparative international frameworks is conducted alongside in-depth interviews with 30 vocational education scholars, curriculum developers, and indigenous knowledge practitioners from across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. Grounded theory is used to construct an emergent decolonial framework from empirical and theoretical data. The framework offers principles for integrating indigenous trades, local epistemologies, and context-relevant competencies alongside globally competitive technical skills. Contributions include a novel conceptual architecture for decolonial VTE curriculum design and a critique of existing frameworks that is both theoretically rigorous and practically generative. Recommendations address policy structures, curriculum governance, and teacher education reform needed to operationalise the framework. This study contributes original theoretical work to the decolonial education literature in Sub-Saharan Africa. Keywords: decolonisation, VTE curriculum, indigenous knowledge, Nigeria, theoretical framework