Digital Literacy among Grade 12 Learners at Centocow High School at Harry Gwala District, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

Abstract

Digital literacy practices involve social networking, web pages, and include visual elements and communication within chat rooms. However, there are several contextspecific barriers to the acquisition of digital literacy. The research was prompted by observing that grade 12 learners at the rural Centocow High School at Harry Gwala District are not digitally literate. As expected, availability, affordability, accessibility, and sustained use of digital tools are limited. Centocow High School is one of several public secondary schools in the rural Harry Gwala District and is classified under quantile two as a no-fee institution. Hence, learners in the school do not successfully utilise digital devices as their peers in other South African, global cities and environments. The study adopted Beetham and Sharpe’s (2010) digital literacy model. The model underpinned the study and helped add breadth and texture to understanding students’ digital competency issues in a rural school setting. The study used quantitative and qualitative approaches to address the research questions. The research used a survey method to gather the required data as it is less costly and time-consuming when using the total population (Matiwane, 2017). The current study adopted random sampling to collect quantitative data and purposive sampling for qualitative data. Eighty-two learners were randomly nominated to participate in the quantitative section of the research, and 10 learners were interviewed purposively for the qualitative section of the study. The findings revealed that most grade 12 learners at Centocow high school access digital tools at home. The results indicated that 62 (76%) of the respondents admitted that digital tools are useful to them for school-related reasons. 20 (24%) of the respondents indicated that digital tools are useful for research and personal reasons. None of the respondents indicated that digital tools are not useful to them. In addition, 49% access digital tools at home, whereas 28% access digital tools at the library. They were followed by 17 (21%) who indicated that they access digital tools at internet cafes. Two per cent of respondents access digital tools in other places. The main conclusions informed the design of intervention strategies for the digital literacy competence of learners. This was a purely qualitative approach that utilized desktop research and thematic content analysis to analyze the data collected. This study finds that the parliament of South Africa used public hearings, written and oral submissions as mechanisms to engage the public on whether section 25 of the Constitution on land redistribution should be reviewed or not to allow for expropriation of land without compensation in the interests of the public. The study finds that parliament received more than 700 000 written submissions made by the public. One issue that this study investigated was that about 65% of written submissions are not supporting the changing of section 25 of the Constitution. In comparison, 34% agreed on the amendment of the constitution, 1% was undecided on whether section 25 of the Constitution should be reviewed or not. This study recommended that if the majority of the public is opposing review of section 25 of the Constitution on land redistribution to allow mechanisms to expropriate land without compensation in the interest of the public, then the parliament must investigate what exactly is the impediment to slow progress of land redistribution in South Africa. This study further recommends that parliament draft, amend, and pass the land expropriation and land redistribution bill. It also recommended a review of the white paper on land redistribution policy since it shows slow progress to date.