Abstract
The South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) anticipates that information and communication technology (ICT) will play an important part in democratising the country’s education system, overcoming discrimination, expanding access to higher education and training opportunities, and improving the quality of higher education (HE). The aim of this article is to report on findings from a literature study on trends in digital pedagogies; the benefits and challenges of using ICT in HE; suggestions on how to utilise ICT in HE; and the implications for the expansion of South African universities through hybrid online education. The study identifies numerous benefits of hybrid online education for HE institutions, lecturers, students and employers. The unavailability and expense of technology and internet access, as well as HE institutions’ lack of commitment towards hybrid online education, lecturers’ apathy, as well as a lack of digital literacy skills among lectures and students are identified as stumbling blocks for the successful implementation of hybrid online education. The study cautions against the implementation of hybrid online courses that are not supported by lectures, unaccessible to all students and lack theoretical depth and technical support. It is concluded that the DHET’s aims to transform and democratise HE in South Africa will only be realised if government, internet providers, HE institutions, lecturers, ICT experts and technical support teams work together to bring affordable and accessable high quality hybrid online education within the reach of all South African citizens. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p859
Highlights
Since the demise of apartheid in 1994 education policy developments in South Africa have been aimed at democratising the education system, overcoming discrimination, expanding access to education and training opportunities, and improving the quality of education, training and research (DHET, 2013)
The majority of the respondents indicated that they either “strongly agree” or “agree” that hybrid learning improved their performance in Accounting Education (AE) (90.1%); motivated them to learn (92.7%); increased their independence in the learning process (81.8%); assisted them to acquire deeper learning in AE (98.2%); received immediate feedback from online assessment (100%); allowed them more interaction with the lecturer than in face-to-face lecture-based sessions (89.1%); promoted online discussions with their peers (92.8%); and made learning more convenient and gave them more flexibility as they could assess the virtual classroom in their own time (100%)
South African universities should play a leading role in eliminating the inequalities of the past and provide high quality, accessible education that will ensure that the country becomes a presence in the global economy
Summary
Since the demise of apartheid in 1994 education policy developments in South Africa have been aimed at democratising the education system, overcoming discrimination, expanding access to education and training opportunities, and improving the quality of education, training and research (DHET, 2013). The DHET (2013) anticipates that information and communication technology (ICT) will play an important part in expanding student access to and improving the quality of higher education (HE). Whether or not this assumption is overstated can only be ascertained through a study of trends in digital pedagogies, as well as of the benefits and challenges of using ICT in HE. Attention will lastly be given to the possible implications of expanding higher education through hybrid online education for South African universities
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