ROSE CORRECTED FINAL THESIS 07 SEPT 2015.Pdf
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AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ GENDER PERCEPTIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON FEMALE LEARNERS’ E-LEARNING PROFICIENCY THESIS SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE BY ROSE KHANYISA MASHA SUPERVISOR: DR. THERZA PALM-FORSTER CO-SUPERVISOR: PROF. NTOMBOZUKO DUKU 2015 1 DECLARATION I, Rose Masha, hereby declare that this study is my original work and has not been previously submitted to any other institution. All secondary sources that have been used in this study have been acknowledged. Signature: Date: i DEDICATION I dedicate this work to four phenomenal women from whose strength I have drawn throughout my life: my mum, (Gladys), my sisters Zama and Zim, and my very good friend, Rose Richards. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the Almighty for His constant presence in my life. I would also like to thank SASOL INZALO for offering me a chance to be one of their PhD Fellows. Support, particularly from Noreen, Cynthia and Irene, is beyond anything I could imagine, and I am grateful to them for allowing me a chance to give a voice to the female learners in the six schools in this study. Furthermore, my appreciation goes to my supervisors, Dr. Therza Palm-Forster and Prof. Ntombozuko Duku, for all their patience, guidance, constructive criticism and unwavering support. I would also like to thank Dr. Sotuku for her advice and sharing the story of her PhD journey with me. Prof. Nikodem, William and Vuyo from GMRDC who made sure that I was supported throughout my research journey are also greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank the learners and the teachers who allowed me space in their lives to undertake this study together with the principals of the schools who were graciously supportive in letting me through their school doors every time I needed to check and re-confirm data. Very importantly, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my husband, Tony, my pillar who stood behind me all the way and our boys, Elethu and Khaya, for all their support and understanding whenever mommy and her laptop were best buddies. To my mom, Gladys, baby sisters, Zama and Zim, my brothers, Nathi and Zoe, for always being an ear when the going got tough, thanks a million. iii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine whether gender perceptions of teachers do have a negative impact on e-learning of female learners in rural and semi-rural schools. A narrative enquiry was used to examine existing gender perceptions of six (6) teachers and119 male and female learners in both rural and semi-rural schools in East London, King William‘s town and Butterworth districts in the Eastern Cape Province in order to discern their values and ideologies that could affect female learners negatively in their e-learning endeavours. Using critical theory of pedagogy, feminism, and constructivism as a theoretical frameworks, this study argues that that e-learning for females, in particular, girls in rural and semi-rural areas, is tied to their socio-economic well-being and gender perceptions. The study applied the sequential mixed methods approach of qualitative narrative inquiry (interviews) and quantitative research (questionnaires). The findings in this study indicated that the teachers‘ gender perceptions do influence the proficiency of female learners in e-learning classes. Additional factors such as the schools‘ pedagogical concerns and culturally engineered gender stereotypes due to unconditional acceptance of Xhosa rituals such as forced marriages, polygamy, finger-cutting and labial stretching, as a norm, were also found to negatively affect e-learning proficiency of female learners. However, it is also evident that the teachers‘ gender perceptions are not the only factors that influence e-learning proficiency in female learners. The patriarchal societies‘ gender constructions, through socialization by the society and communities surrounding the schools, have an added influence on the female learners‘ low success rate in e-learning. Moreover, lack of support from the Department of Basic Education in e-learning was found to be a contributing factor towards the teachers‘ apathy, which influences their perceptions towards e-learning. Finally, this study discovered that there seems to be evident policy gaps between the Constitution, the Department of Education and the Traditional Leadership. The afore-mentioned fraternities seem to influence the schools in rural and semi-rural areas in the Eastern Cape to lean towards patriarchal authority and dictatorship, rather than towards transparent and fair governance for female learners in traditionally male-oriented subjects such as technology. iv LIST OF ACRONYMS BPFA: Beijing Platform for Action CAI: Computer Assisted Instruction CAT: Computer Application Technology CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against CGE: Commission for Gender Equality DBE: Department of Basic Education DI: Direct Instruction ECDoE: Eastern Cape Department of Education EMGD: Education Management and Governance Development FDET: Former Department of Education and Training FDET FET: Further Education & Training GET: General Education and Training GETT: Gender Equity Task Team GFP: Gender Focal Person ICT: Information and Communication Technology ISAD: Information Society and Development IT: Information Technology LA: Learning Area LO: Life Orientation NAPTOSA: National Association of Professional Teachers Organisation in South Africa v NCET: National Council for Educational Technology NCS: National Curriculum Statement NGO: Non-Governmental Organisation OSW: Office of the Status of Women PC: Personal Computer RNCS: Revised National Curriculum Statement SADTU: South African Democratic Teachers Union SASA: South African Schools Act of 1996 SGB: School Governing Body SITES: Second Information Technology in Education Study SMT: School Management Teams UK: United Kingdom UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ZPD: Zone of Proximal Development vi Table of Contents DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES AND DIAGRAMS .................................................................................. xv LIST OF APPENDICES ..................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Background to the study ........................................................................................ 1 1.2.1 International perspectives of gender perceptions on e-learning ......................... 2 1.2.2 African gender perceptions on e-learning ............................................................. 6 1.2.3 South Africa gender perceptions on e-learning .................................................... 9 1.3 The statement of the research problem ............................................................... 13 1.4 Research questions .............................................................................................. 14 1.5 Research objectives .............................................................................................. 14 1.6 Significance of the study ...................................................................................... 14 1.7 Motivation for the study ........................................................................................ 15 1.8 Literature review ................................................................................................... 15 1.9 Research methodology ......................................................................................... 16 1.9.1 Research sample ................................................................................................... 16 1.9.2 Research approaches ........................................................................................... 17 1.9.3 Research paradigm ............................................................................................... 17 1.9.4 Research design: exploratory and descriptive designs ..................................... 18 1.9.5 Data collection methods: QUALI-quantitative research methods...................... 18 1.9.6 Data analysis ......................................................................................................... 19 1.9.6.1 Qualitative data analysis: narrative interviews ................................................... 19 1.9.6.2 Quantitative data analysis: questionnaires ......................................................... 20 1.10 Research quality ................................................................................................... 21 1.10.1 Research quality in qualitative