Abstract
M.Ed. (Information and Communication Technologies in Education)
The use of ICT at all levels in the schools has been shown to have a positive impact on
teaching and learning, in particular of Mathematics. In South Africa, Dinaledi schools have been
given ICT resources by the former Department of Education (South Africa) with the aim of improving
Grade 12 results, particularly in Mathematics. This study aims to assess the use of ICT for
learning in the selected Dinaledi School, with an additional focus on Mathematics learning in grade
8 to 12, and to provide guidelines for the use of ICT in the Dinaledi schools, and specifically to
support Mathematics learning.
The ‘mixed–method’ study comprised several sets of data, both quantitative and qualitative, using a
sequential-mixed-method-explanatory design for the case of the selected Dinaledi School, Kone High
School (Fictitious name), situated in the Limpopo Province, to determine how ICT resources are used
in the teaching and learning, and also for Mathematics. In the quantitative phase, quantitative
data was collected by means of structured questionnaires on the use of ICT from the principal,
teachers and students. The University of Johannesburg’s STATKON unit analysed the data, and
confirmed the latent theoretical constructs that were embedded in the questionnaire. To clarify the
results, in the follow-up qualitative phase, the principal, teachers and students were interviewed
on the use of computers. Other quantitative data were sourced from official end-of-year matric
results.
Both teachers and students pointed that the ICT resources were not sufficiently used in teaching
and learning, in particular for Mathematics, although in contrast it appeared that the principal
believed that the ICT resources were sufficiently used for teaching and learning. The study
concluded that ICT was not an important driver of teaching and learning in this Dinaledi school and
it did not play the role in teaching and learning at Kone High
School, as is envisioned for Dinaledi schools.