Research in Social Sciences and Technology (E-Journals)
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Transition to online learning by a teacher education program with limited 4IR affordances
Get PDFThis study used the community of inquiry (CoI) framework and the affordances of Internet of things (IoT) to explore how the faculty of education of a rural campus of a university transitioned from face-to-face to online modes of instruction. In this qualitative interpretive study, data were collected through open-ended questionnaires from four purposely selected teacher educators and five final-year bachelor of education preservice teachers. Thematic content analysis techniques were used to analyze the data collected. The findings indicated the tensions experienced by the teacher educators as they negotiated the limited IoT affordances to ensure effective teaching, cognitive, and social presence in the newly formed online classrooms. Some of the tensions included the choices that were made on whether to use synchronous or asynchronous modes of instruction and the selection of effective communication modes. The teacher educators used a combination of the official learning management system (LMS) tools of the university and a social media platform as way of navigating the limited 4IR environments experienced by the preservice teachers
Effective Mentoring to Improve Job Satisfaction among Beginner Teachers at South African Primary Schools
Get PDFTeachers leaving the profession before age of retirement is an ongoing problem in schools worldwide. While fewer teachers enter the profession each year, the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased. Many teachers listed lack of job satisfaction as a reason for leaving the education profession, while citing the lack of mentoring as a main cause of job dissatisfaction. This study explores the impact of an effective mentoring program at primary schools in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa to support and improve job satisfaction among beginner teachers entering the profession. This study follows a quantitative approach, consisting of a Likert-scale questionnaire. The sample of the study was a number of 550 teachers (principals, deputy principals, heads of department, teachers and student teachers) from different races and cultures from 50 randomly selected state and private primary schools in Mpumalanga. After comparing the literature with the respondents' data, the researchers found that the development and implementation of a mentoring program in the province of Mpumalanga would positively impacts beginner teachers' job satisfaction, thus indicating a definite need for such a mentoring program
COVID-19, the global education project and technology: Disrupting priorities towards rethinking education
Get PDFThis paper argues that the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic created a space to reconceptualise education and rethink priorities. Although no one will deny the devastating impact of the pandemic, humans have been able to continue with various projects, including the global education project, largely made possible through unprecedented technology advancement, as well as the uptake of technologies that advanced pre-COVID-19. In many ways, the clear distinction between human and technological (being non-human) practices has blurred to a point where the mere nature of human projects such as the global education project has become post-human. While different schools of thought on the nature of “post-human” exist, we use it to refer to what we are becoming together, a comprehension and awareness of the connectedness between humans and their natural and technological environment and the ethical concerns that come with it. COVID-19 provides an opportunity to reconsider the connectedness, complexities and dynamics of the world, and what we (humans, nature, Earth, technology) are becoming. Based on a literature survey and critical refection on the state of the global education expansion project at the time of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we suggest the following changes to the ways quantity, quality and equality in education are conceptualised. The employment of technology should be added in the conceptualisation of input quality. Flexibility, support and connectedness should be built into the process quality equation. Most importantly, ecology should also be added as a product of education, and not merely a contextual influence in education
Equity in Distance Education During COVID-19
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic forced districts, schools, and teachers to mobilize in order to deal with the digital inequities that have existed for decades. At the beginning stages of technological advances in education, the so-called digital divide related more to access to technology and equipment. Utilizing the phenomenological approach to qualitative research, this study examines the experiences of educators who served students with differing experiences and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Total of 14 (N) educators (including adminstrators, teachers, and counselors) participated likert style questionaires. 11 of 14 participated in focus group interviews. Findings are shared and conclusions are drawn.
 
Shifting Paradigms: Rethinking Education During and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFIt is uncontested that education systems globally are under constant pressure to respond to the changing needs of societies. The outbreak of Covid-19 has reminded us that the complexity of education needs responsive practices to facilitate effective teaching and learning across all levels of schooling globally. All over the world, the normative ways of teaching and learning evolved drastically in the first quarter of the 2020 academic year when teachers and students found online offerings to be the dominant option available as a consequence of the pandemic conditions. In South Africa specifically, students and teachers were thrust into virtual teaching and learning situations with the majority of them having no preparation for this shift. This conceptual paper considers education in the current and post-Covid-19 era as the greatest paradigm shift in the history of education. I examine measures taken by higher education institutions to support the provision of education to ensure learning continuation. In this paper, I provide some suggestions for carrying out educational activities during the continuing Covid-19 situation. Educational leaders need to rethink content creation and content sharing and establish working communities to meet the demands of the new paradigm in education
Disability Sensitivity and Sensibility: A Nondisabled Lecturer Perspective on Inclusive Lecturing Opportunities
Get PDFDisability is a social force that arguably creates more education problems for students with disabilities than their impairments. Understanding it as a form of social oppression can lead to less exclusionary teaching and learning attitudes, beliefs, expectations and practices. Numerous studies have looked at the experiences of staff and students with disabilities as well as the experiences of teaching students with disabilities. However, more studies are needed to better understand and address disability in higher education. Nondisabled perspectives have a role to play in opposing disabling educational practices and cultures to make higher education more inclusive. Many opportunities especially exist for nondisabled lecturers to contribute to addressing the higher education barriers and discrimination which often affect students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to use a disability perspective to present my lecturing practices during the move to emergency remote teaching and learning in response to COVID-19 while working at an HDI. An autoethnographic method was used. Content analysis of my accounts exposed the exclusionary nature of my practices in terms of how they facilitated ableism and suppressed disability discourse. Recommendations are made, in light of the results, on ways to not only make higher education spaces more accommodating but counter a wider societal culture that oppresses and even seeks to eradicate the value of those who live with impairments. 
Covid-19 and Technology: Higher Education’s Responses to Inclusive Practices for Pre-Service Teachers with Disabilities
Get PDFTransforming the learning experiences of pre-service teachers with disabilities from stigma and social exclusion to experiencing a sense of belonging, is a desirable imperative for learning mediators in the South African Higher Education (SAHE) context. This paper presents a relational content analysis of the concepts, theories and policies, related to effecting transformation in the meaning schemes of pre-service teachers with disabilities and to provide HEIs with inclusive responses to addressing their learning support needs. The theory of perspective transformation, which highlights the process of effecting change in a frame of reference, is applied. The theory expands on three dimensions, including psychological (changes in understanding of the self), convictional (revision of belief systems) and behavioural (changes in lifestyle) with a sound foundation of inclusion aimed at drawing on practices for the prevention of exclusion of the pre-service teacher with disabilities in SAHE spaces. The paper further analyses discourses extracted from Section 47 of the Salamanca Statement, (1994) that build on inclusion artefacts in addressing perspective transformation. The findings in terms of belonging show that affirmations of the discourses, related to an interpersonal connection with others, have the scope to affect pre-service teachers with disabilities’ need for a positive regard as a prerequisite to foster the inclusion of individuals within any given relationship. This paper recommends that SAHE institutions embrace an ethos of inclusivity to achieve transformative equity for pre-service teachers with disabilities and offers an inclusive response framework to ensure that they are able to participate, learn and be welcomed as appreciated associates of HEIs
The Transformative Methodology: Expository Study of Teaching English as the Second Language Acquisition
Get PDFThe significance of language as a science in the educational sector has continued to play a critical role in terms of teaching and learning. However, due to inequalities exposed severely by the Covid-19 pandemic, the teaching of English as the second language acquisition to foreign speakers; is adversely affected. Therefore, the use of transformative methodology as the teaching strategy is explored to determine the most suitable methodology of teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study utilizes Participatory Action Research as the approach to explore the efficacy of transformative methodology; this approach is embedded in the paradigmatic principles of constructivism as the lens of qualitative methodology. Besides, the data is analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis post the generation of it using observations and semi-structured interviews (free attitudinal interviews). The paper demonstrates the prospects of using transformative methodology as the appropriate use of pedagogical strategy for English as the second language acquisition, it also suggests efficient but costly measures required to be implemented by the universities for the use of the transformative methodology
Plans and Interventions of South African Grade 1 Educators During the 2020 Lockdown Period
Get PDFThe extended lockdown in 2020 found South African educators employing innovative strategies to teach and assess Foundation Phase learners. Educators had to make do with reduced hours in the classroom and experienced new challenges in delivering curriculum content to learners that had barely grown accustomed to the formal classroom setup. Empirical research attempted to identify the plans and approaches used by grade 1 educators. The findings may indicate best practices as experienced in this time and help to inform the approach taken during future repetitions of extraordinary circumstances. A theoretical and conceptual framework based on the current constructivist approach adopted by the Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS) guided the empirical research and informed the construction of the questionnaire. The key findings were themed into strategies for presenting teaching and learning, communication, and the impact on schooling. Findings were compared to the premises of the theoretical framework and conclusions drawn. It was noted that educators were hesitant to move their schooling entirely to the virtual learning platform and eager to return to the school environment. Various obstacles posed by the digital divide were flagged as threats to future situations and the involvement of parents was emphasized. The resilience of educators to continue to ply their trade, and their belief in the indomitable spirit of children, may offer conducive circumstances for future innovations in education
Predictors of Success in Advance Higher Education: A Case in Northwest Samar State University, Philippines
Get PDFTeachers play a significant role in the preparation of our youth as they make important decisions about education, work, and life. Existing studies on the correlations between teaching proficiency and academic performance of the students are primarily limited to elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Considering the big difference between advance higher education and other educational levels, there is a need to explore the relationship of the teaching proficiency to the academic performance of the students in advance higher education. This study made use of the descriptive-correlation research design. Survey questionnaires were distributed to all advance higher education faculty members and students from School Years 2015 to 2017 at Northwest Samar State University. Statistical tools like frequency and percentage distribution, means, standard deviations, and regression analysis were used for the analysis of the data. Results showed that most of the advance higher education faculty members are male, married, doctorate holders, professionals, research-oriented, very satisfactory performers, and possess good financial status. The best predictor of the academic performance of the advance higher education students is the work experience of the faculty members