Abstract
The term industrial revolution has been around since the invention of the 1st Industrial Revolution in the 1780s to 1850s. It involves the use of machines for production, telecommunications, electricity, and new technological developments. The 4th Industrial Revolution is the fourth development of industries which directly relates to the development and innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the Internet of Things. The South African curriculum has been changing since the post-apartheid era to meet the needs of the diverse South African societies. To be at par with the rest of the world, the Government and the Department of Education have recently amalgamated with the rest of the world by adopting the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). These assumptions come at a time when 21st century skills and knowledge discourses are being reignited. To be precise, 21st-century skills refer to flexible skills and attributes that are designed to help learners respond positively to the changing world and labour market. However, some teachers, especially old-generation teachers who were trained during apartheid, are still relaxed about incorporating these skills into their daily lessons.
This study uses the Connectivism Learning Theory alongside Ralph Tyler’s model of curriculum development. The connectivism learning theory argues that currently, peoples’ lives revolve around technology and that this affects how they interconnect and learn. Hence connectivism is the learning theory which applies and imposes technology in the learning sphere. According to Goldie (2016), connectivism perceives learning as the system of observable facts that is supported by technology and socialisation. On the other hand, Tyler’s curriculum model is a curriculum method that concentrates on the four core principles, which are determining objectives, identifying experiences, organising experiences, and evaluating effectiveness. This position further argues that the purpose of education is to provide learners with the necessary knowledge and skills in order to be successful. This research adopts a qualitative research methodology in order to understand the extent to which teachers in township schools are positioned to use 4IR to impact meaningful teaching and learning. Hence the research also sought to examine the resource availability and how such resources are used by teachers in class.
This study employed transcendental phenomenology to gain an in-depth understanding of teachers’ experiences regarding the integration of 4IR into the curriculum. Schools were selected using purposive sampling to ensure relevance to the research focus, while participants
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within those schools were chosen through random sampling to enhance representativeness. Data collection involved two sets of semi-structured interviews, one administered to educators and the other to school principals.
The study concludes that despite the use of 4IR to promote quality and equitable education, there are still difficulties in integrating technology into the curriculum. The study's primary findings also showed that older teachers (veterans/old-timers) continue to struggle in incorporating 4IR tools into the curriculum, and that power outages continue to render 4IR less effective in the provision of equalized and quality education. It further established that theft and vandalism of resources were still increasing and did negatively impact 4IR initiatives just to provide education within the contexts of townships.
The study recommends systematic and regular training to ensure that veteran teachers and students are adequately trained in these novel technologies. It is also recommended that the process of process of providing devices to teachers be expedited, as much as the need to regularly service these gadgets and replace those that are no longer in good use. In addition, the research recommends the Department of Education consider alternative ways of powering schools in townships, given that a number of them are prone to prolonged blackouts due to other prevailing factors in the townships. The installation of dependable and high-speed WiFi is indispensable in these provisions.