Parents' perceptions of the use of technology in South African primary schools

Abstract

Despite 20 years of democracy, education in South Africa is still plagued by the inequalities carried over from apartheid. Concerns on issues of standardisation in education, which are linked to socio-economic status, make it increasingly difficult to determine what skills learners are leaving the schooling system with (Blignaut, 2009; Du Plessis & Webb, 2012; Lumadi, 2011; Maiyo, 2015; Watts, 2001). There is a need to bridge the gap that currently exists within education, and one way in which this is thought possible, is through the integration of technology in the classroom (Department of Education, 2004). In 2015 the Smart Schools Project was put in place to promote the implementation of technology in South African schools. One of the aims of this project is to standardise education through redressing the inequalities within the country. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of parents, with regards to the introduction of technology within primary school classrooms in South Africa. In order to achieve the main aim of this study, perceptions of parents were explored from parents whose children were in private and government-funded schools. This study used a combination of two models in order to understand how parents’ usage and acceptance of technology could possibly influence their children’s interaction with technology. This study found that how parents come to use and accept technology is not influenced by socio-economic status. Further, it was noted that acceptance and usage impacted how they viewed technology being introduced in the classroom.