Browsing by Author "Dlodlo, Mary"

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    Attitudes of Technical Teacher Education Student Teachers at University on the Use of Information Communication Technology for Learning and Teaching
    (2014-09) Dlodlo, Mary
    The study provides an indication about the attitudes of female and male student-teachers on the use information communication technologies in learning and teaching. Female learners’ lack of interest against the high interest shown by their male counterparts in learning and teaching has implications on their performance. The introduction of ICT in learning and teaching requires student-teachers as classroom instructors to be competent in using ICTs for a variety of activities in order to impart those skills to younger learners. The study sought to find differences between female and male students in the use of ICT and investigated students’ attitudes to assess whether access to computers, background, stereotype and experiences influenced female and male participants in using ICT in teaching and learning. The objective of the study was to discover attitudes of female and male students towards ICT. The study was also to discover differences in attitudes towards ICT between female and male student teachers and to what extent these differences could be explained by students, lecturers and student-teachers’ experience factors. Female and male students were exposed to the use of computers at university in different education programs that included student teachers from art and design, clothing, textiles and fashion design and computer study areas among others. The study did not reveal wide gender differences in computer attitudes between female and male student teachers as it showed that both female and male students developed computer knowledge and confidence in working with ICT although male students used ICT for experimentation while female students used them more for set assignments. From the results it is recommended that female student teachers use computers more freely in their student activities for the purpose of acquiring a variety of computer skills and for the male student teachers to focus on specific tasks of learning and teaching when using computers.
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    Re-Thinking Diversity in Engineering Education: Implications for Everyday Socio – Economic Issues.
    (NUST, 2014-09) Dlodlo, Mary; Shava, George, N.
    There are many ways of understanding the gap in engineering and achievement separating female and male students studying engineering. This paper offers our perspective. First, the paper discusses in broad terms the relationship between everyday engineering knowledge and ways of acquiring knowledge and ways of knowing as viewed in the field of engineering education. The paper also considers two perspectives on the question of engineering practice. One perspective examines the relationship within the early period of engineering practice and the other perspective looks at ultimate continuity. We locate our own work within the latter tradition and suggest a framework for understanding the everyday socio – economic practices of female and male practices from diverse backgrounds as a resource in engineering learning and teaching education. We conclude with a discussion of implications of this new conceptualization for research in engineering education and learning.