How Should a Master’s Programme in Educational Technology be Responsive to the Needs of Africa?

1. How Should a Master’s Programme in Educational Technology be Responsive to the Needs of Africa? Ian Moll Division of Educational Information Technology Wits School of Education A Workshop presented to the eLearning Africa Conference, Dakar, Senegal, 27th May 2009

2. Comment est-ce qu’un programme de „Masters“ (maîtrise) en Technologie de l’Enseignement devrait être réceptif aux besoins de l’Afrique?

4. The background to the argument…. Moll, I (2004) Curriculum responsiveness: the anatomy of a concept. In Griesel, Hanlie (Ed.). Curriculum Responsiveness: Case Studies in Higher Education. Pretoria: SAUVCA, 2004. Freely downloadable from www.hesa.ac.za http://www.hesa.org.za/hesa/resources/Curriculum%20responsiveness.pdf

5. What is curriculum responsiveness? • “Knowledge society” – universities no longer marginal. • “Société de connaissance” – les universités ne sont plus marginales. • Vast international literature on “responsiveness” – in education, health, care, social development. • Littérature internationale énorme sur “réceptivité” – en éducation, santé, soins, développement social.

6. Economic responsiveness • Are universities training sufficient numbers of highly qualified and skilled personnel in each key sector of the economy? • Are they doing the research that industry needs to remain profitable? • Industry • Public sector

7. Réceptivitééconomique • Les universités forment-elles suffisamment de personnel très qualifié et habile dans chaque secteur clé de l’économie? • Font-elles la recherche de laquelle l’industrie a besoin pour rester lucrative? • L’industrie • Le secteur public

8. By “economic responsiveness”, we mean… The university curriculum is responsive to the prevailing labour market by Incorporating the necessary high level qualifications, knowledge and skills demanded b a modern, diversified economy.

9. Cultural responsiveness • How does dissonance between the institution and culturally diverse students contribute to curriculum failure? • How does research & teaching contribute to specific sociocultural needs of SA? • Responsive teaching – diversity of cultural heritages, learning styles, learning resources. • Special academic programmes for access. • Emancipatory programmes.

10. Réceptivitéculturelle • Comment est-ce que la dissonance entre l’institution et les étudiants culturellemnt divers contribue à l’échec du curriculum? • Comment est-ce que la recherche & l’enseignement contribuent aux besoins sociocuturels spécifiques de l’Afrique du Sud? • Enseignement réceptif – diversité d’héritages culturels, styles d’apprentissage, ressources d’apprentissage. • Programmes académiques particuliers pour accès. • Programmes émancipateurs.

11. By “cultural responsiveness”, we mean … The university curriculum is responsive to The cultural diversity of students and society by Incorporating multiple cultural reference points that acknowledge diversity and constitute various alternative learning pathways for students.

12. Disciplinary responsiveness • Do university researchers and teachers keep up to date in their disciplines? • Highly systematised forms of enquiry. • Applies both to classical disciplines and interdisciplinary studies.

13. Réceptivité au sujet • Est-ce que les chercheurs universitaires et les enseignants se tiennent au courant de leurs sujets? • Formes d’enquête très systématisés. • S’applique aux sujets classiques et aux études interdisciplinaires.

14. By “disciplinary responsiveness”, we mean … The university curriculum is responsive to The nature of its underlying knowledge discipline by Ensuring a close coupling between the way in which knowledge is produced and the way students are educated and trained in the discipline area.

15. Learning responsiveness • Does the teaching entailed in the curriculum respond to the learning needs of the learner? • Skilful teaching • Provision of learning opportunities • Access to epistemic context of the institution

16. Réceptivité d’apprentissage • Est-ce que l’enseignement impliqué dans le curriculum répond aux besoins d’apprentissage de l’apprenant? • Enseignement habile • Provision d’occasions d’apprentissage • Accès au contexte épistémologique de l’institution

17. By “learning responsiveness”, we mean … The university curriculum is responsive to The learning needs of students by Teaching them in terms that are accessible to them and assessing them in ways that they understand.

18. Thinking about curriculum responsiveness in South Africa: • Analytically separate categories BUT • In practices in universities, the different senses of responsiveness operate together, sometimes in complementary ways, sometimes in conflicts.

19. 1. In the TVET context … Basic requirement to prepare students for a world of work (incl. formal and self-employment) BUT “What may result, in the quest for a closer fit between formal knowledge and everyday problems and the increased emphasis on application and use, is that the practical curriculum is privileged over the theory-practice curriculum… a complete break with the past may well lead to the erosion of the historically central place of concept formation in the … curriculum.” (Gamble)

20. 2. In the Academic Development context … • Beyond “disadvantage”: we are not engaged with an abstracted psychological condition in an individual, nor with a static cultural context of origin. • Rather, responsiveness requires engaging a relation between a familiar cultural context, which has been internalised, and the unfamiliar cultural-institutional context of a university, which has not yet been internalised.(Slonimsky) “constitutive” or simultaneous transformation of institutional practices and the practices of the learner.

21. 3. In relation to disciplinary inquiry… Distanciation – thinking about objects of inquiry in relation to the much wider, broader, in a word – deeper – body of extant knowledge; Appropriation – working in disciplined manner with knowledge that is outside of one’s current understanding in order to make it familiar; Research – generating new knowledge in the specialised, systematic form that disciplinary inquiry requires; incl. clarifying the object of inquiry; Articulation – communicating in stylised verbal and systematised written form the findings of research …[to be] object and means of reflection for other people.Slonimsky & Shalem (2004) Curriculum responsiveness conceived in the terms of “epistemological access” for learner

22. (e.g. in Psychology) There are “distinctive, manifest behaviour patterns amongst Africans” that can “only be understood as evolving from unique African epistemologies.” (Bodibe) A responsive curriculum is the systematised study of unique African knowledge systems, or at least its incorporation in a broader curriculum. “There are other ways of knowing besides Cartesian truth or rationality … I claim the right for my tongue, language-isi-Xhosa, my style of thinking, speaking and writing, my culture and spiritual values which are rooted in indigenous epistemes to be validated within the academy as legitimate and authentic”(Goduka) 4. In relation to Africa… Africanisation as cultural project (cultural responsiveness)

23. (e.g. in Psychology) “Whatever the limitations of Western psychology, indigenization … does not have to invoke the ethnocentrism that it seeks to destroy.” (Mashegoane) A responsive curriculum is the systematised study of the psychology of African people, and the systematic incorporation of ideas generated in relation to African realities into the discipline. In the other view, “culture is reduced to folklore, its most obvious superficial and flashy aspect. Its deeper life and internal contradictions, the fruitful tensions by which it is animated are all neglected, along with its history, development and revolutions. Culture is petrified in a synchronic picture, flat and strangely simple and univocal, and is then contrasted with other cultures which are also trimmed and schematised for the sake of the comparison.” (Hountondji) Or … Africanisation is priority, overall engagement with the problems and issues of Africa (all senses of responsiveness)

24. 5. ICTs as tool for responsiveness… • increase contacts between students and faculty staff; • develop reciprocity and cooperation among students; • promote active learning practices; • gives prompt feedback; • emphasize time on task; • communicate high expectations; and • respect diverse talents & ways of learning. Chickering and Ehrmann (1996)

25. The pedagogic use of ICTs … … “Students on the whole need more support and more guided instruction than was the case in the more elite academic contexts of the past. … As higher education expands, we cannot always rely on human ingenuity to overcome its inadequacies. It is always possible to defend the inspirational lecturer, the importance of academic individuality, the value of pressurising students to work independently, but we cannot defend a mode of operation that actively undermines a professional approach to teaching.” (Laurillard, 2002)

26. But not straightforward … “because the digital domain has become so dominant and is changing how the world works, it is creating new realms of exclusion for students without access to computers and lecturers who are grounded in pre-digital print culture. In a context of increasing inequalities, it adds another layer of complexity to the challenge of social inclusion” (Czerniewicz, 2004).

27. But… In education, should we be contemplating the notion of ‘ICT responsiveness’ ? “ICTs are ‘just’ a tool” “ICTs are not just a tool.” ? ?? ? ? ?

28. But… In education, should we be contemplating the notion of ‘ICT responsiveness’ ? “NO” ? ?? ? ? ? Do not let the technological tail wag the pedagogic or curriculum dog …..

29. A stratified model of curriculum responsiveness economic / policy responsiveness institutional / cultural responsiveness curriculum responsiveness discipline responsiveness learning responsiveness

30. Un shéma stratifié de réceptivité au curriculum réceptivité economique / de politique réceptivité institutionelle / culturelle réceptivité au curriculum réceptivité au sujet réceptivité d’apprentissage

31. And so to our workshop: What is required of an ET curriculum that is responsive to the needs of Africa? What are the tensions that arise in this regard?

32. Philosophical dimensions: e.g. minds, brains & machines e.g. knowledge vs. information Sociological dimensions: e.g. globalization & the networked society e.g. the ‘digital divide’ in education ‘just in time’ computer skills eLEARNING Pedagogical dimensions: teaching, learning and assessment using ICT (Pedagogical Knowledge) Psychological dimensions: e.g. text, hypertext & learning e.g. virtual learning spaces IT curriculum (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IT syllabuses (NCS, FET, etc.) (Content Knowledge) Curriculum & policy dimensions THE FIELD OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

33. What content must be in the programme if it is to be responsive to: The economy (including the job market)? The cultural context of the country? The discipline of Educational Technology? Learners need learning? Africa? Rules: One idea per card, no more than 7 words per card. Use big, bold letters.

34. Quel contenu doit être dans le programme si ça va être réceptif à: L’économie (l’emploi inclu)? Le contexte culturel du pays? La Technologie de l’Enseignement? Apprenants? L’Afrique? Règles: Une idée par carte, pas plus que 7 mots par carte. Utilisez de grosses lettres.

35. Principles • Theoretical perspectives • Experiences • Data

38. http://www.observatoiretic.org

39. Data • + National education and ICT policy (6 available subcategories; 6 have data, including 12 documents) • + Equipment, connectivity and access (8 available subcategories; 8 have data, including 0 document) • + Teacher-training (12 available subcategories; 12 have data, including 0 document) • + ICT use (14 available subcategories; 14 have data, including 0 document) • + Impact on educators and teaching (1 available subcategory; 1 has data, including 0 document) • + Impact of ICT on learners and learning (3 available subcategories; 3 have data, including 0 document) • + Institution management and ICT (10 available subcategories; 10 have data, including 0 document) • + Policy related to equity (1 available subcategory; 1 has data, including 0 document) • + Gender (2 available subcategories; 2 have data, including 0 document) • + Cultural and content sensitivity (1 available subcategory; 1 has data, including 0 document) • + Special education (1 available subcategory; 1 has data, including 0 document) • + Language (1 available subcategory; 1 has data, including 0 document)

40. economic / policy responsiveness institutional / cultural responsiveness curriculum responsiveness discipline responsiveness learning responsiveness

41. What content must be in the programme if it is to be responsive to: The economy (including the job market)? The cultural context of the country? The discipline of Educational Technology? Learners need learning? Africa? Rules: One idea per card, no more than 7 words per card. Use big, bold letters.