2.1 Introduction 18
2.2.2. The Role of Government in Advocating a Tech-Savvy Generation 19
Experts in education concur that change in higher education in the areas of curricula and pedagogy is fraught with insurmountable disputes, tension and challenges (Friedman & Deek, 2003). Educationists of traditional methodology are so engulfed in their ways that the very thought of pedagogical change brings instant resentment, whilst there are those who are radical enough to readily implement new methodologies but are confronted with the problem of insufficient resources to enable the change (Khoza, 2011). Beyond the disparities that exist, institutions of tertiary education have acclimated well to change when considering the pressures of the marketplace, particularly so, in that governments have responded to a global transition of examining pedagogical practises (Shapiro, Haahr, Bayer & Boekholt, 2007). The relationship between government and higher education is pivotal as this defines the scope and room to manoeuvre new policy initiatives in education to reach the desired policy objectives (Boezerooij, 2006). Never has this been more articulate in the kind of graduates and citizens envisaged in the information age. In South Africa, the government explicitly states in an e-Education policy document that, “Every South African manager, teacher and learner in the general and further education and training bands will be ICT capable (that is, use ICTs confidently and creatively to help develop skills and knowledge they need as life long learners to achieve personal goals and to be full participants in the global community) by 2013 (Department of Education South Africa, 2004: p, 17). Emphatically, governments worldwide have ambitiously sanctioned the change to incorporate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) into the education system. From developed countries such as America and the United Kingdom, and developing countries like South Africa and India, online learning through technological innovations have assumed a
prestigious position in the teaching-learning process (Mayes, Morrison, Mellar, Bullen & Oliver, 2009).
Despite the progression in the last 20 years, universities and colleges are still overcome with problems relating to finance, training, language barriers, lack of experts in the profession and insufficient resources and pedagogical tools (Khoza, 2011). This is a major concern for governments as they grapple with contingency plans to maintain policy developments in education. It is imperative to consider the influence the South African government has on instituting ICT at higher education, since this resides within the context of this research (Czernierwicz, Ravjee & Mlitwa, 2006). This could better facilitate understanding as to why the Curriculum Context and Change employs online learning as a major driver in teaching and learning. The discussion also includes the experience of other countries’ governments in advocating e-learning as a strategy for change in higher education.
Improving efficiency and dealing with the equity needs of a nation can present serious challenges for institutions of higher education. South Africa parallels this view, fuelled by immense pressure to meet the social prerogatives and skills needs’ of a democratically transformed society (Kistan, 2002). Tantamount to this is the problem of accommodating students from diverse backgrounds at higher education institutions, thus widening the gap in the knowledge and skills required for certain areas of learning such as mathematics and science (Paras, 2001). In addition, the burden of large class sizes, a multilingual society of which 11 languages are official, and problems relating to curriculum design need urgent attention. However, Tella and Adu (2009) advocate that ICT has the potential to overcome historical problems of isolation, impediments to socio economic development and barriers of access to information and knowledge. One of the greatest challenges faced by the country is to ensure a demographic representation among graduates in response to a long legacy of an apartheid regime that marginalised specific race groups (Scott, 2004). It is not the requirement of this research to investigate the specific discriminatory factors that influenced a change of government in 1994, but rather to consider briefly the plight of the country that has brought about change in education. Within this framework, the South African government has endeavoured to improve in its policy on education and delivery performance.
Concerning policy goals, the idea is to produce ICT managers, educators and students by 2013 (Department of Education, 2004). Policy support for ICTs in South Africa in reconstructing education and contributing towards broad post-apartheid developments is outlined in the 1997 White Paper 3 on Higher Education, the 2001 National Plan for Higher Education, the 2003 Draft White Paper on e-Education, and the 2004 ICT Charter (Czerniewicz, Ravjee & Mlitwa, 2006).
This suggests the crucial position ICT holds in improving education, and institutions of tertiary
education are highly instrumental in constructing globalisation as a discourse needed to mould the nature of broad post-apartheid change (Ravjee, 2007).
Educational technology (ET) involves the systematic identification of the goals of education, a realisation of the diverse cohort of student needs, the environment in which learning will take place, and the provisional requirements needed to sustain these (National Focus Group, 2006).
The challenge exists in designing appropriate systems that will mitigate teaching and learning systems that can achieve the identified goals (Smith & Jones, 2005). Relatively, 2005 marked a significant year in the United Kingdom (UK) government’s endeavour to use transformation as a policy driver (Mayes et al, 2006). The Cabinet Office published its first Transformational Government Enabled by Technology Strategy to transform the business of government that filtered to all areas of policy and practise (Mayes et al, 2006). The then Department for Education and Skills came to the forefront in implementing a process entitled ‘Towards a Unified e-Learning Strategy’ initiative that transferred on to higher education quickly. The fundamental aspect of appropriating e-learning through technological innovations included the realisation about the potential e-learning has in bringing about changes in higher education institutions that meet the needs of students (Jara, 2007). Identifying the transformational influence technology has through e-learning in higher education in the UK and other countries, helps to provide a perspective as to why the university in this research has adopted an e-learning approach to teaching and learning of the Curriculum Context and Change course. Significantly, since South Africa has faced global pressure to respond to a technology-mediated world (Czerniewicz, 2006), this is relative in perhaps shedding light on why certain universities in South Africa have not responded to the call and why others have embraced the potential of e-learning.
In Wales e-learning was cemented in the policy objectives of the National Assembly outlined in the 2001 publication ‘The Learning Country’ (Smith & Jones, 2004). Consequently a number of publications and reports governing e-learning in education were introduced. The premise surrounding the support for e-learning stems from a view that technology-enhanced learning should become a normal part of the mainstream provision in all aspects of life, work and study by current and future generations (Smith & Jones, 2004). By 2015 it is envisioned that e-learning will be embedded in higher education institutions across Wales. The policies and strategies devised aim to create the optimum learning experience based on robust technology to improve learning, teaching, assessment and the curriculum (Jara, 2007). Given the myriad of policy endeavours needed to incorporate e-learning in all aspects of teaching and learning at higher education in Wale, the findings suggest the stringent position it occupies in improving education in a competitive world.
Although this research is focused primarily on a university in Kwa-Zulu Natal within the specific course of Curriculum Context and Change, the review of related literature and the findings discussed later, will assist in ironing out some of the problems that hinder South African universities from sufficiently implementing ICTs in higher education. According to Czerniewicz et al (2006) there is no overarching policy outlined for the use of ICT in higher education in South Africa. Consequently tertiary institutions such as the North West University and the Walter Sisulu University of Science and Technology, amongst others, reflected no concrete Information Technology (IT) policy or IT-related teaching and learning material that could enhance the process of e-learning in South Africa.
The introduction of educational technology (ET) in India can be traced to the early 1970s. The Ministry of Education used ET to solve problems in education and improve learning through mass media and television programmes (National Focus Group, 2006). Since then India has made substantial use of ICTs which include, open soft-ware, satellite technology, human-computer interfaces and digital libraries. Government-supported initiatives towards the use of ICT in education include: the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning that centres on internet and television technologies, IIT-Bombay has started the program of CDEEP (Centre for Distance Engineering Education Programme) through the implementation of real time interactive satellite technology, and One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in Maharashtra (Hattangdi & Ghosh, 2008). Despite concerted efforts by the Indian government such as these, research findings indicate that the overall state of higher education in India is dismal (Hattangdi & Ghosh, 2008). In 2007 only 9% of students in education enrolled for tertiary education. This can be rooted to the highest rates of illiteracy in the world (Rajpal, Singh, Bhardwaj & Mittal, 2008). Given the enormous challenges India has experienced in accommodating the needs of a rapidly growing population, the government and all stakeholders believe that e-learning has the potential to make a substantive change in education. Consequently a number of distance education programmes are available to compensate for colleges and universities that have tight enrolment requirements, such as the reputable Indira Gandhi National Open University under the Distance Education Council (DEC).