Abstract
I report on postgraduate students conducting survey research on information and
communications technology (ICTs) in South African schools, focusing on the notion
of e-maturity. The dual emphasis of the paper is on students’ collaborative experience
of the authentic research process including their experience of e-maturity
within the target schools and leads to a discussion in two parts around notions of
novice student research and e-maturity. Fifty students, most of them practising
teachers, participated collaboratively in the design and implementation of the survey.
Discussion in this paper is based on the qualitative analysis of 50 research
reports submitted on completion of the survey field work. I analysed the reports
inductively for their content using simple in vivo coding techniques and structured
quotations into flowing narratives to illuminate both issues. Findings show that the
participatory and collaborative nature of the research process contributed markedly
to the composition quality of student research reports. Student understanding of the
research process through meaningful engagement in authentic field work has also
greatly improved their insights into ICTs in education and the current e-maturity of
participating schools.