Playful project-based learning - PPrBL

Fostering Futures emphasises the challenges faced by senior-phase learners in South African high schools in making career decisions and navigating societal pressures through innovative approaches. As a Creative Arts teacher at a North-West Province High School, Welcome Moloi find himself on various territories as he navigates his professional development within Art Education. Recognising the school learners’ need for guidance towards future employment opportunities that contribute to self-efficacy and community well-being, he helps learners to see themselves as contributors to societal and civic growth. Working in interdisciplinary ways, arts education is linked with career guidance, highlighting the interconnectedness of art with identity, social well-being, and potential economic opportunities. In the Creative Arts class, playful, project-based learning (PPrBL) is applied whereby various media and creative practices are blended. This approach encourages learners to explore their vocational potential through diverse forms of artistic expression, such as body mapping and collages, preparing learners to think introspectively and innovatively. These PPrBL activities help them develop critical skills, self-awareness, recognition of their unique capabilities, and a future-oriented mindset, bridging gaps in various life territories – education, personal development, and the workplace. The study proposes arts-based strategies to transform career education into a holistic, asset-based framework that equips learners with the set of skills necessary to face complex societal challenges while envisioning dignified futures.