Formal and Informal Routes to Learning Textiles and Garment Construction in Tanzania: A Critical Narrative Review

Abstract

Young Tanzanians learn tailoring and garment construction in secondary schools, in Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) centres and, very often, as apprentices in informal workshops. Policy documents assume that these routes can be connected, yet the evidence about how each one teaches, whom it reaches and what it produces has not been brought together. To compare formal and informal routes on three dimensions: how teaching and learning are organised, who can gain access, and what learning and labour-market outcomes have been reported. A critical narrative review following the SANRA criteria. Fourteen verified sources published between 2015 and 2026 were synthesised: six empirical studies, four policy or curriculum documents and four agency or sector reports. A 2020 to 2026 window applied, with a stated exception for the only sector skills analysis and for the curriculum documents in force. Evidence was charted against eleven comparison domains and coded as direct Tanzanian evidence, regional or international evidence, statements of policy intent or theoretical inference. Situated learning theory framed the analysis of pedagogy; Social Cognitive Career Theory and Bourdieu's concept of capital were used for choice and recognition. No source compared formal and informal learners on a common measure. The sources more often described formal provision in terms of sequenced content, safety, assessment and recognised awards, and informal apprenticeship in terms of real orders, customer contact and enterprise skills. Constraints were reported on both sides: equipment and practical time in schools, and uneven coverage, weak assessment and poor recognition in workshops. Neither route can be shown to be superior. The review proposes a provisional hybrid model that combines workplace learning, short structured modules and recognition of prior learning, and sets out the outcomes against which pilots should be evaluated.