Barriers to implementing technology-enhanced learning in south african primary schools

Tamás Fergencs, Olga Pilawka, Rasmus Broholm, Rikke Magnussen

Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapport/konference proceedingKonferenceartikel i proceedingForskningpeer review

1 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Implementing digital learning into classrooms is a constant struggle in developing countries. The former apartheid era in South Africa has resulted in a society that is characterised by expansive inequality, and so a great emphasis is put onto education to mend these social rifts. This paper details a project aimed at uncovering the obstacles to the successful implementation of a novel learning management system in South African primary schools. Studies was conducted in South African primary schools where the new e-learning systems are being implemented. Interviews were conducted with four schoolteachers and a school principal to gain insight into the problems pedagogues face when learning how to use the system and implementing it into their teaching activities. The interviews are supplemented with field observations to see how successfully the new technology performs in classrooms, and a small-scale survey was also conducted to collect attitudinal information about the system. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the directors of the company that developed the learning management system in order to provide an insider’s view on the biggest implementational challenges. After the data-gathering, thematic analysis was conducted on the qualitative data to uncover the difficulties teachers face in adopting the new technology in their teaching activities. The results presented in this paper show that the success of implementing technology-enhanced learning is dependent on several factors. These include the flexibility of teachers’ mindsets, teachers’ administrative workload and the accessibility and usability of the technology.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TitelProceedings of the 19th European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL 2020
RedaktørerCarsten Busch, Martin Steinicke, Tilo Wendler
Antal sider8
ForlagAcademic Conferences and Publishing International
Publikationsdato2020
Sider182-189
ISBN (Elektronisk)9781912764785
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2020
Begivenhed19th European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL 2020 - Berlin, Tyskland
Varighed: 28 okt. 202030 okt. 2020

Konference

Konference19th European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL 2020
Land/OmrådeTyskland
ByBerlin
Periode28/10/202030/10/2020
NavnProceedings of the European Conference on e-Learning, ECEL
Vol/bind2020-October
ISSN2048-8637

Bibliografisk note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Academic Conferences Limited. All rights reserved.

Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Citationsformater