The status of electronic teaching within South African LIS Education

Abstract

PurposeTo determine the perceived self-efficacy of South African LIS academics in e-teaching as a co-requisite to imparting relevant ICT knowledge and skills to LIS students.Design/methodology/approachThe study was underpinned by the pragmatic world view, which allows a researcher to choose a combination of methods, techniques and procedures that best meets the needs and purposes of the study. Based on the purpose and objectives of the study, and the type of data needed, a quantitative approach, employing the descriptive survey design was used. An online questionnaire with both structured and unstructured questions was distributed to 79 LIS academics in 8 universities and attracted a 68.4% response rate. Structured responses were computed directly as quantitative data, while the unstructured answers were aggregated under themes and analysed quantitatively.FindingsThe findings show that LIS academics in South Africa have not been left behind in the trends regarding e-teaching, and most of them feel quite confident about their self-efficacy in e-teaching. A variety of Learning Management Systems and e-tools are in use and relevant policies and technical support available. Most LIS academics, to re-/up-skill themselves, employ diverse heutagogical strategies. However, the e-teaching support in terms of resources and technical support are inadequate because some universities are deficient in their provision of ICTs and e-learning guidelines.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study is that this was a time-bound study that focused merely on the basic level investigation A further in-depth probing of the real (as opposed to self) levels of e-teaching efficacy and how heutagogy can be explored or advocated is necessary.Practical implicationsThe implications of the results are that (1) South African LIS academics are well fairly well prepares to face the impact of COVID-19, which has forced universities to turn to virtual/online education (2) Heutagogical approach should be explored as a method of further improving the capabilities of e-teachers, in order to (3) pass forward a positive impact on LIS graduates by preparing them to be agile for a modern work environment. (4) universities have to provide sufficient resources to support academics in their endeavour to continually improve their teaching.Social implicationsTopical in the face of the novel coronavirus.Originality/valueOptimal

Higher education student engagement in times of pandemic: the role of e-learning system usability and teacher behavior

“…Some teachers are unaware of their behavior's significant effect on student engagement. For instance, students' encouragement to be involved in electronic teaching and learning is strongly linked to how teachers act and behave regarding online courses (Fadillah et al , 2020; Majanja, 2020).…”

Navigating Education in the Context of COVID-19 Lockdowns and School Closures: Challenges and Resilience Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa

“…Whilst access to a smartphone is relatively high in South Africa, as illustrated by our data, phones are often shared amongst several members of the household, and data is expensive, which hampers learners' access to e-learning, library resources and online research, especially when content needs to be downloaded (Majanja, 2020;Spaull and Van der Berg, 2020). Learners from socio-economically disadvantaged households are often unable to afford e-learning technologies, both in terms of devices and data, necessary for remote learning (Chauke and Chinyakata, 2020).…”

“…Learners from socio-economically disadvantaged households are often unable to afford e-learning technologies, both in terms of devices and data, necessary for remote learning (Chauke and Chinyakata, 2020). Additionally, learners using smartphones for online learning are at a disadvantage to those using computers, due to limited functionality, smaller screen size and keyboards and the lack of optimization of online learning platforms for handheld mobile devices (Donner et al, 2011;Adnan and Anwar, 2020;Majanja, 2020). It is not only a lack of resources, technology, and internet infrastructure that disadvantages young people from socio-economically deprived communities, but also a lack of the basic digital and technological skills required to learn effectively from remote teaching resources (Adnan and Anwar, 2020;Oluka et al, 2021).…”

“…Addressing barriers to access of technology and the internet is urgent; without reducing the "digital divide, " achieving equality in education will not be possible (Tomlinson et al, 2021). Since a vast proportion of South African learners only have access to smart-phones for online learning, there is a need to consider the accessibility of user interfaces (Majanja, 2020). Free and open-source digitized teaching and learning resources and materials need to be made available for access on a variety of devices, operating systems and software applications optimized for restricted bandwidth and sporadic internet access (Donner et al, 2011;World Bank, 2020;UNESCO, 2021a).…”

“…Infrastructure at government schools needs to be improved, to ensure that both teachers and learners have access to basic digital technology and internet connectivity (Oluka et al, 2021;UNESCO, 2021a). Facilitating internet access at all educational institutions would be a step in the right direction, however, would be of limited benefit during school closures if internet could only be accessed on campus (Majanja, 2020). Therefore, investment in technology such as Wi-Fi-capable devices for use by both learners and teachers would be one way of addressing inequities in technology (UNESCO, 2021b).…”