Exploring digital competences in Zimbabwean secondary schools using a multimodal view: a hermeneutical phenomenography study
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Date
2024
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
This paper presents a study that investigates digital competencies within the
Zimbabwean secondary education system. Limited research has focused on
Zimbabwe’s secondary schoolteachers’ digital literacy in online learning. The study uti lised DigComp 2.2 as the framework, and employed a multi-method participative
approach to collect data from secondary schools across the 10 provinces of the coun try. Thrirty nine interviews were conducted across Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces, including
15 FGDs with learners, 21 in-depth interviews with teachers, and three key informant
interviews with education directors, resulting in 215 participants. The results of a 3-
dimensional modal analysis revealed a multifaceted situation in five key areas: prob lem-solving, safety and security, digital content creation, communication and collabor ation, and information and data literacy. The study found that both teachers and
learners were proficient in using applications such as WhatsApp, MS Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint. Computer Science students demonstrated specialised skills, particularly in
programming. Although teachers aim to improve digital literacy by teaching critical
evaluations of online content, challenges persist in rural regions because of limited
access to ICT tools and infrastructure. Collaboration is facilitated through platforms
such as WhatsApp; however, ensuring inclusive participation remains a challenge.
Digital safety and security have been identified as the major concerns. While progress
has been made in areas such as Communication and Collaboration and Information
Literacy, challenges still exist in digital content creation, problem-solving, and safety
and security. These findings offer policymakers insights into maximising the impact of
integrating ICTs in education.
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Citation
Dabengwa, I.M. [et al.] (2024) Exploring digital competences in Zimbabwean secondary schools using a multimodal view: a hermeneutical phenomenography study, INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION, 11:1, 2387911, DOI: 10.1080/2331186X.2024.2387911