Andy Bytheway

Awareness of E-government related small business development services in Cape Town

Small businesses are widely regarded by national and international bodies, including the South African government, as an “engine of economic growth”. However, much available evidence suggests that establishing a new small business in South Africa is difficult because of a lack of appropriate support. The project reported here set out to examine the actual support that has been available, and the viewpoints of both the support service providers and the intended beneficiaries – small business owners and managers. It was found that government‐based services were predominant in the minds of small businesses and other involved parties, and that much of the interest in these services was based on use of the Internet, in the context of “e‐Government”. However, despite claims of success by service providers, it is found that many small businesses are not aware of available support services, and that where they are known there is scepticism about the benefits of engaging with them. Problems therefore centre around a lack of awareness of available services, and a lack of proper engagement between the parties involved.

Changing mindsets: the attitude of pre-service teachers on technology for teaching

In a context where there has only been limited success with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in education, this paper explores attitudes towards the use of ICTs in South African pre-service teacher education. In particular, it looks at how cognitive and affective attitudes towards technology determine visions and scenarios of technology integration into teaching and learning practice. This note presents the results of an in-depth qualitative study involving exceptionally motivated pre-service teachers from two higher education institutions. Findings indicate strong intentions to integrate ICT in future teaching and the constant inclination to keep updated with technological evolution. Pre-service teachers view themselves as users of technology in order to keep up with what they perceive to be a technologisation of life and education. The integration scenarios envisioned by participants demonstrate a changing mindset where technology is not only an additional tool, but enables the advancement of new teaching and learning models centred on the active role of the student. A critical look at the study findings compels us to give accrued importance to how living and learning in a developing area determines meaningful articulations of pro-technology attitudes.