Towards bridging the digital divide in post-apartheid South Africa: a case of a historically disadvantaged university in Cape Town

Abstract

South Africa's historically disadvantaged university libraries are, like others, challenged to meet patrons' demands through the provision of relevant infrastructure, services and information-related skills to enable users to function in the digital information age. Their historic disadvantage is compounded by two levels of the digital divide: their situation within a developing nation (the 'global divide'), and contending with a relative paucity in skills and resources within this context (the 'local divide', as a legacy of apartheid). This paper reports on a master's study undertaken to explore whether the electronic services initiated in post-apartheid South Africa by University of the Western Cape (UWC) Library are perceived by primary stakeholders (users and library staff) as effective in bridging the digital divide. The study employed a phenomenological qualitative design, supported by critical theory. Purposive sampling was used to select two sets of samples for data collection: postgraduate students and UWC librarians. Data was collected from forty students through an online questionnaire, and interviews were held with six UWC librarians. Findings suggest that the UWC Library has emerged as a competent agent of democracy: most of the users perceive the e-services being offered as useful and meeting their needs, and the library currently provides ICT infrastructure, internet access and information-related skills programmes to support the university community. However, challenges encountered include slow internet connection, security concerns, shortcomings in information literacy, problems of access and accessibility (including language), and reluctance to engage with unfamiliar technology. While the institution does make an effort to bridge the digital divide, recommended further research, such as evaluating the impact of slow internet speed on research and learning or enhanced interventions in information literacy, could further support more equitable access to information.

Student Perceptions of Virtual Reality in Higher Education

“…If taken in the context of Nyahodza and Higgs (2017)-who stated that a large fraction of South African students are unable to afford educational resources, such as personal computers-this lack of access to a workspace, and adequate internet connection poses a challenge to VR, within higher education learning. In cases where students do not own smartphones, the lecturers would be expected to provide VR platforms or provide alternative solutions, which consider the resources that students have access to.…”

“…For that reason, this study was conducted in a South African higher educational institution. Nyahodza and Higgs (2017) use statistics from a 2016 World Bank survey (which concludes that members of South Africa's population, who fall within the lower half of the countries income bracket, account for a mere 8% of the country's income)to support their argument that a majority of these individuals are unable to afford educational resources, which also include computers and an Internet access. Furthermore, a study by Hersh and Mouroutsou (2015) identifies income and language as the primary factors, defining the access to learning technologies.…”

Understanding Age Differences in Technophobia: A South African Case Study

“…Non-profit organisations that serve older adults have also constructed strategies to ensure that their information needs are met (Lavery et al, 2018;Lewis, 2020). Current studies have focused on identifying and studying how technology related interventions are being employed to bridge the digital divide (Lembani et al, 2020;Nyahodza & Higgs, 2017). However, technophobia remains a major issue in South Africa, limiting technology adoption.…”

Arguing for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the STEM curriculum: Possibilities and challenges

“…The concept of the digital divide, which refers to differences in access to the Internet, is ascribed to Lloyd Morrisett of the Markle Foundation (Hoffman, Novak & Schlosser 2000). In South Africa, the digital divide can be associated with historical economic differences in terms of racial backgrounds (Hoadley 2017;Nyahodza & Higgs 2017). Nonetheless, Nyahodza and Higgs (2017:46) remark that '[a]ccess to ICTs and informationrelated skills have been identified as key challenges in bridging the digital divide'.…”