Miracle Ntuli

ICT integration in teaching: An uncomfortable zone for teachers: A case of schools in Johannesburg

AbstractE-learning can be seen as a means to increase the global competitiveness of a nation. Despite this developmental role, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching and learning purposes has not been met with a great deal of success in South African schools. Consequently, this study investigated factors that affect usage of ICT by secondary school teachers around Johannesburg. The findings suggest that teachers are more likely to integrate ICT into their teaching if they believe it has potential to enhance teaching and learning. Similar is the case for those who perceive ICT to be easy to use – those who believe that interacting with computers does not require a lot of mental effort. This implies that ICT usage can be improved if teachers’ training programmes were to incorporate some form of e-learning. This could help some teachers to develop a positive attitude towards e-learning that can be translated into actual usage in classrooms. As such, the Department of Education...

Comparability of NSC mathematics scores and former SC mathematics scores: How consistent is the signal across time?

Abstract Pupils’ competence and preparedness are assumed to be reflected in their school-leaving scores which are used by employers and further education institutions as signals for selecting appropriate applicants. Schools need a consistent signal of their pupils’ potential success beyond school in order to prepare them appropriately. The introduction of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) in South Africa has led to the admission of students into universities who seem inadequately prepared for tertiary education, especially with regard to their mathematical preparedness. Using a standardised 1st year university test first written in 2006 and repeated in 2009 and 2010, we compare the signalling ability of the NSC school-leaving mathematics scores with the former Higher Grade (HG) in terms of mathematical preparedness. Our findings suggest that the NSC mathematics scores are inflated by around 20–25 percentage points compared to the former HG mathematics scores. However, once deflated, the NSC scores are...