The strategic importance of education technology in the public FET colleges in Durban.

Abstract

This study shows how future rapid growth of urbanization that is taking place in countries with large rural surroundings and young populations face serious shortages of relevant human capital. The intention of this study was to examine the strategic importance of education technology in a public Further Education Training (FET) College in Durban. This study focused on and explored the efficacy of mobile technology, specifically mobile messaging technology (MMT) as an innovative tool to teach and learn. The research adopted mixed methods. The research process firstly utilized a qualitative approach. A list of 5 independent professionals was randomly selected from local business in Durban. The survey method used was interviews. The study yielded a 100% response rate. The researcher followed the inductive thematic analysis approach and used Nvivo 10 to analyse the data. Furthermore, the research process used a quantitative approach. A list of students and teachers was derived from the senior lecturer of the public FET College. The sampling frame consisted of 180 students and 7 teachers. The survey method used was the questionnaire. The study yielded a 100% response rate. The study revealed that some of the biggest challenges of South Africa’s education system would be the rate at which [it] adopts the emerging trend of education technology, and [its] limited technical understanding of people’s attitudes towards adopting a digital environment to teach and learn. The analysis revealed that the respondents were amenable towards the utilization of technology as a technique to train and educate people on quality skills, and to share knowledge. However, further examination needs to be undertaken to prove [it] is not an inferior technique to teach and learn. The research draws mostly upon the importance of the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the use of education technology to impact the access to quality education.