Technological pedagogical content knowledge in South African mathematics classrooms: A secondary analysis of SITES 2006 data

This article reports on a secondary data analysis conducted on the South African mathematics teachers’ dataset of the Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES 2006). The sample consisted of a stratified sample of 640 mathematics teachers from 504 randomly selected computer-using and non–computer-using schools that completed the SITES 2006 teachers’ questionnaire, which investigated their pedagogical use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). The purpose of the current investigation was to investigate the level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) of mathematics teachers, and how TPACK attributes contribute towards more effective Grade 8 mathematics teaching in South African schools, using the TPACK conceptual framework. The findings are presented according to the three clusters identified through the association between the main variables of the TPACK model and other variables on the SITES 2006 teachers’ questionnaire: (1) impact of ICT use, (2) teacher practices and (3) barriers. A Cramér V of between 0.3 and 0.4 was considered to signal a medium effect that tended towards practically significant association, and a Cramér V of 0.4 or larger was considered to signal a large effect with practically significant association. The results indicate that the TPACK of mathematics teachers contributes towards more effective Grade 8 mathematics teaching in South African schools

Framework for the development and evaluation of educational DVDs and web-based multi-media clips for grade 8 and 9 History.

The White Paper on e-Education promotes the use of various information communication technologies (ICTs) to achieve the expected learning outcomes in the different learning areas of the school curriculum. Because most teachers and learners are not yet computer skilled, resource-based learning, supported by digital versatile disc (DVD) technology, is one of the most cost-effective and self-contained educational media that involve minimal infrastructural investment. Educational DVDs provide the opportunity to deliver a constructive multi-media learning experience to learners in rural areas who do not have access to libraries and the Internet. This is especially valuable for history education because DVDs allow learners to "go time travelling" through history, guided by different learning media and artefacts such as historical photographs, illustrations, film material, music, speeches, newspaper reports, political cartoons, maps, etc. Multi-media learning tools stimulate different learning styles and broaden the range of the learning experience in general. This paper provides a research framework for the development and evaluation of educational DVDs and Web-based multi-media clips for grades 8 and 9 history in the social sciences learning area. These clips are currently being developed at the Faculty Education Sciences of the North-West University. These educational media, with accompanying teacher manual and learner word-cards, are intended as inexpensive support of quality education and sustainable social development in South Africa

Contextualizing South Africa's participation in the SITES 2006 module

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) initiated the Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES 2006) - a large-scale comparative survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in schools. The goal was to understand the pedagogical use of ICTs in schools in 22 education systems. We aim to contextualize South Africa's participation in SITES 2006 on four levels: (i) the nature and structure of the South African education system, (ii) a review of South Africa's participation in SITES 2006, (iii) ICT infrastructure, facilities and equipment, and (iv) teachers' use of ICTs for teaching and learning. SITES 2006 administered three questionnaires to school principals, technology coordinators, and mathematics and science teachers. The final sample consisted of 666 mathematics and 622 science teachers. Although most education systems collected data via the internet, South Africa was the only country that used only a paper-and-pencil data collection strategy with an average return rate of 90%. South Africa scored low on most variables, e.g. ICT infrastructure, facilities, and equipment. A large percentage of South African teachers reported their ICT incompetence. South Africa's inability to cross the boundaries of traditional learning towards the development of 21st century teaching and learning skills inhibits social and economic growth for the development of human capital