Abstract:

In sub-Saharan Africa, the populations most in need of professional qualifications are those without access to stable digital infrastructure. Existing distance learning programmes, modelled on those in high-income countries, face persistent structural challenges that limit their large-scale deployment: unreliable electricity networks, very expensive and poor-quality mobile data, and a lack of culture of independent online learning. This article aims to fill a documented scientific gap: a near absence of empirical studies on mobile learning specifically in the fields of vocational and technical training, particularly in sewing and fashion design.

This research presents the design and initial stages of implementation of an offline-first mobile learning e-learning system using the Moodle mobile app in vocational and technical training programmes in sewing and fashion design in Senegal. This system is based on an offline-first architecture: learners download course modules during weekly sessions assisted by Wi-Fi synchronisation in training centres, then complete all learning activities offline on their personal smartphones or tablets. Learning activities are automatically updated when learners reconnect. This architecture addresses the infrastructural and socio-economic obstacles that current distance learning systems cannot overcome in a context of limited resources.

The theoretical framework for this research is the Taxonomy of Barriers to Distance Learning in Africa (TAFDA), an original analytical model that we have developed, which incorporates four categories of barriers: infrastructural, pedagogical, socio-economic and institutional, and maps their systemic interaction. TAFDA informs the pedagogical engineering choices of the system: lightweight multimedia content optimised for entry-level terminals and very old devices, bilingual French-Wolof resources, peer tutoring and anchoring in national vocational and technical training funding mechanisms.

A quasi-experimental protocol with pre/post measurements is being implemented in two contrasting institutions — a public vocational and technical training centre and a private school — with 30 to 50 learners. The expected results, the evaluation indicators selected and the implications for the design of contextualised and replicable mobile learning systems in sub-Saharan Africa will be discussed, as well as the prospects for extension to informal learning settings.

Keywords:

Distance learning, mobile-learning, digital divide, sub-Saharan Africa, vocational training, Senegal, CFPT, New Deal Technologique, 3FPT, structural barriers, TAFDA.