Abstract:
Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are acknowledged as a vital ingredient for the transformation of any society. Since the late 1990’s the Department of Education implemented several curriculum-based interventions aimed at improving the quality of education in South African schools. During this time there was also a gradual introduction of ICT in some schools, mainly because there seemed to be a belief that the integration of ICT in schools can transform education, reduce challenges, and lead to enhanced education in South Africa.
The data for this study originated from the TIMSS 2011 and TIMSS 2015 assessments conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). This study investigated the relationship between the investment in ICT in South African schools and the mathematics achievement of the Grade 9 participants. The aim of the study was to identify trends in the use of ICT in schools, as well as the relationship between the use of ICT and mathematics achievement.
The findings from the study indicated a decrease in the availability of ICT for teaching and learning from 2011 to 2015. The study found that even where ICT was available, it was rarely used. At the same time Grade 9 participants reported an increase in the use of ICT for schoolwork outside of their school environment. While there was an increase in educator professional development focusing on the integration of ICT in education, the number of educators that used ICT for mathematics teaching and learning, decreased between 2011 and 2015. The research results suggested that educators seemed to battle to optimally use and implement new technologies.
A new model for improved integration of ICT in schools is therefore proposed. The proposed IIIA-Model for the integration of ICT in Schools (IIIA-Model) is based on an adaptation of the Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2010) and the TIMSS curriculum model (Mullis & Martin, 2013). The IIIA-Model aims to direct the implementation and integration of ICT in schools by identifying different zones of impact, role-players involved, as well as curriculum expectations during the process of ICT integration.
