Irene Govender

The Relationship between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Integration and Teachers’ Self-efficacy Beliefs about ICT

The integration of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in teaching and learning is becoming almost obligatory given the imperatives of education in many countries in the world. All teachers have a challenging job, but integrating the tools for ICT in teaching and learning provides additional challenges, especially for secondary teachers not exposed to technology. In this paper we explore a possible relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs pertaining to their own level of competence and their attitudes towards technology adoption. Questionnaires were used to determine teachers’ perceptions of their competence and factors that relate to their attitudes. Their responses were analysed using a statistical package (SPSS) and social cognitive theory was used as a framework to explain human learning in terms of motivation, behavioural and environmental factors. Some implications for professional development programmes are then suggested. This paper determined the perceptions of educators w...

Pre-service and in-service teachers' experiences of learning to program in an object-oriented language

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the various ways in which pre-service and in-service teachers experience learning to program in an object-oriented language. Both groups of teachers were enrolled in university courses. In most cases, the pre-service teachers were learning to program for the first time, while the in-service teachers had previously programmed using a procedural programming language. Phenomenography was used to identify categories of description of learning to program. From these categories an outcome space was created that shows the relationship between different experiences of learning to program. The outcome space can be represented as circles inscribed within one another, where the innermost circle represents a lower level of cognitive accomplishment and the outer circles subsume the inner circles. The five levels of the outcome space are: meeting the requirements, learning the syntax/learning by comparison, understanding and assimilating, problem solving and programming in the large. Implications of the findings for teaching are discussed.

Solving introductory computer programming problems using an object-oriented language: Insights from an empirical study

Abstract This study involved tertiary students (pre and in-service teachers) who were learning, and learning to teach object-oriented programming. In most cases, the pre-service teachers were learning to program for the first time, while the in-service teachers had previously programmed using a procedural programming language. The paper presents the results of an investigation into the various ways in which pre- and in-service teachers solve problems in programming when using an object-oriented language. Phenomenography was used to identify categories of description of solving problems. From these categories, two approaches to solving problems emerged. The paper demonstrates that some of the ways to solve problems are better than others, and these better ways should be encouraged. Some implications for teaching are discussed.

Teachers' Understanding of E-Safety: An Exploratory Case in KZN, South Africa

The exposure of online risks to young adults has been of concern for some time. While e‐safety may be regarded as the responsibility of parents and the individual, teachers’ role in inculcating safe and effective use of online computing is important. The purpose of this study is to contribute towards igniting the interest of educators in the aspect of e‐safety by exploring the issues related to educators’ awareness and knowledge of e‐safety, particularly in a developing country. An exploratory case study using mixed method approach was adopted wherein two schools from either side of the digital divide was used to inform the study. Preliminary data was collected via interviews and questionnaires. Qualitative data from interviews were obtained, supported by some quantitative analysis was. Key findings from this study were that (1) most educators were not fully knowledgeable about online risks and the associated e‐safety measures; (2) all educators from both sides of the digital divide required training in e‐safety education and were not competent enough to handle e‐safety issues. Some recommendations are suggested.

Examining the impact of privacy, Security, and trust on the TAM and TTF models for e-commerce consumers: A pilot study

This paper examines the impact of privacy, security, and trust (PST) on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Task-Technology Fit (TTF) model for consumers of e-commerce. The findings of this pilot study were drawn by designing a structural equation model (SEM) on the impact of privacy, security, and trust (PST) on TAM and TTF models for consumers of e-commerce. The population for this pilot study was university academics and the data was analyzed using SPSS and WarpPLS software. Findings indicate that privacy has a significant influence on perceived usefulness, while Security and trust, have a significant influence on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Moreover, perceived usefulness has a significant influence on the behavioral intention to use, which in turn has a significant influence on the actual use. Similarly, the TTF model has a significant influence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, but it does not have an influence on the behavioral intention to use.

Factors influencing academic use of internet banking services: An empirical study

This study explores factors influencing the adoption of Internet banking. Based on the literature and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model, six constructs which influence academics’ usage of and behavioural intention to adopt Internet banking were identified: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, perceived risk and trust. Data was collected from 272 academics through a survey questionnaire, and correlations and regression were used to analyse the relationships. The results indicate that, while performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions had a positive association with academics’ Internet banking usage, it was not possible to find support for a positive association for social influence with academics’ Internet banking usage. Secondly, while trust had a positive association with academics’ behavioural intention to use Internet banking, the null hypothesis that perceived risk has no association with intention to use Internet banking could not be rejected. Facilitating conditions is the most influential factor explaining the usage of Internet banking. Implications from these findings may help banking institutions to structure their service model tactically for broader Internet banking usage and adoption.

Bringing agile practice to the classroom : Student voices of third-year major projectimplementation

Agile practices are the current trend in the software industry, so it is, therefore, pertinent that students not only learn but practise agile development in the learning environment. Adapting to a different approach such as agile practices in software systems development has been a challenge for both students and lecturing staff. This study examined the underlying challenges and experiences of students in using the agile approach to software development in a project course. A mixed-methods approach was followed with focus group interviews and a survey instrument used to determine the students’ experiences of the agile approach to software development. The results reflected an intention to use agile practices in future and enthusiasm in using agile practices in learning. In addition, it was found that more programming expertise was needed for some students without the requisite programming knowledge. These findings have implications for structuring courses more effectively for undergraduate modules.

Views of the Use of Self-directed Metacognitive Questioning during Pair Programming in Economically Deprived Rural Schools

The research reported in this article formed part of an internationally funded project about the empowerment of Information Technology (IT) teachers in economically deprived rural schools in the North-West and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in South Africa. The current paper focused on the use of self-directed metacognitive (SDM) questioning in a pair programming context. The study sample consisted of five IT teachers and 99 Grade 10 IT learners at five schools. The teachers were trained to implement pair programming and to guide learners in the application of metacognitive regulation while doing pair programming. The learners used SDM questions during their subsequent pair programming tasks. Data-gathering was done through interviews with the teachers regarding their views on the use of the SDM questions, and the learners’ journals with their views on how they experienced the SDM questions to direct their thinking during execution of pair programming tasks. The results indicated that the teachers viewed the implementation of the SDM question difficult and time-consuming, and that they experienced the learners to be either reluctant or unwilling to engage in SDM questioning. However, the results of the learners’ journals indicated that the learners experienced the SDM questions to be helpful in directing their thinking during pair programming tasks.

Understanding students' performance in programming assessment questions

1. BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION The national curriculum statement for Information Technology (NCS) in South Africa proposed a new programming language that is object-oriented (OO). The change in programming language has implications for teacher-trainees and for many in-service teachers, who learnt and were trained to teach a procedural language, such as Pascal. Several studies show that programming is a challenge for introductory students. By studying the programming assessments of preand in-service teachers during the transition from procedural to object-oriented programming revealed the influences prior knowledge has on learning and teaching OOP.