The perception of South African parents on the use of technology in schools

Abstract

Parents are recognized as an important group of stakeholders to take into account when implementing technology in schools. However, very little research has considered the parent’s view in the learning development of his/her child, when introducing technology. This paper addresses this gap by presenting the findings of an inductive study to improve the understanding of parents’ perception on the adoption of technology in their child’s learning environment. A qualitative study was done with data gathered through an online anonymous questionnaire containing open-ended questions. The questionnaire was distributed on parents’ communication platforms. The data indicated that the introduction of technology has caused concern amongst parents. The parents sensed that their children’s (inter alia) academic goals, neurological development, competency in computer usage and health, are affected by the introduction of technology. They experienced an increase in difficulty to monitor learning; some children find it more difficult to study and that children are easily distracted. The parents managed these interferences by amongst others acquiring hard copy textbooks; adjusting the way they monitor homework and agreeing to trust their children rather than attempting to monitor everything. The findings illustrate the importance of involving parents in the technology implementation process because of their close involvement in the academic development of their children (especially primary school children).