Factors influencing 21st century skills development sustained by ICT

Abstract

As technology development is advancing almost exponentially, it has since touched almost every aspect in our lives, from work to recreation. Therefore, in view of the extent to which technology is integrated in modern socio-economic settings, this study undertook to investigate South African schools readiness to integrate ICT. The following research questions were investigated: What is the relationship between the importance of ICT use for 21st Century Skill Development and obstructions hindering ICT goals in the light of currently available Infrastructure in South African schools? What is the relationship between the importance of ICT use for 21st Century Skill Development and obstructions hindering ICT goals in the light of currently available Human Resources in South African schools? A Spearman’s rho correlation was calculated, using SITES 2006 data obtained from the Principal Questionnaire (Brese & Carstens, 2009). It was found that all of the influencing factors, pertaining to both Infrastructure and Human Resources, showed a weak, to very weak negative correlation with the ICT goals under question. This means that, though the relationship is not strong, the influencing factors are hindering schools from reaching ICT goals for 21st Century Skills Development.