The information and communication technology requirements of the national curriculum statement : implications for implementation in schools

Abstract

This study investigates the integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in learning in grades 10 – 12 of South African schools. It originated from observations by leading educationists that while technology has fundamentally changed the 21st century workplace and other dimensions of society, this did not happen in education in spite of multiple efforts in the past. This raises the issue of requirements for technology integration in learning to succeed, and whether the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) as the national curriculum for grades 10 – 12 complies with it. Linked to this is the extent to which technology is integrated in the NCS and its subjects. Against this background the research endeavours to answer the question: What are the ICT requirements of the NCS and its implications for schools? It is guided by three research objectives: to research and describe an acceptable and appropriate underlying theoretical foundation for integrating ICTs in 21st century classroom teaching and learning; to identify, analyse, interpret, classify and record the spectrum of ICT requirements in the NCS; and to develop theoretical and practical guidelines in a framework of understanding for implementing and integrating the ICT requirements of the NCS in learning. The research commences with a literature study of 21st learning needs and learning theories that comply with and accommodate those needs. It proposes a theoretical foundation for integrating ICTs in learning that is based on a complementary and conditional view of objectivism and constructivism. Based on this foundation, seven technology roles in learning and the importance of a technology-integrated curriculum are identified and described. The second phase of the research involves a qualitative analysis of the curriculum documentation of the 31 NCS subjects in order to identify, analyse, interpret, classify and record the ICT requirements of the NCS. The three typologies of requirement types, technology roles in learning and application types are used for this purpose. The final phase involves contemplating the implications of the research findings and synthesising it in a conceptual framework that educators can use as a context for understanding, interpreting and implementing the ICT requirements of the NCS.