ICT IN NATURAL SCIENCE FOR EMPOWERMENT: STUDENT WORK OF A DIFFERENCE

In 1994 the South African democratic government was sworn into power. A new education curriculum was implemented to replace the redundant, racialised apartheid education curriculum. The Department of Education was concerned with developing a skilled and computer literate workforce for the progressive development of the country to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The research question asked in this research is – How can student teachers engage with ICT for the empowerment of disadvantaged (socially and economically deprived) communities? The theoretical framework that underpins this research is empowerment and authentic learning. The participants in this research were two groups of Biological Sciences student teachers who were registered for a research and service-learning module. The data collection methods included a document analysis of the Biological Science programme, the student work (PowerPoint and research report), semi-structured interviews with students and observation of their interaction with the community. The students used ICT in developing and using their knowledge and skills of research and service-learning at the particular placement sites to engage in empowering themselves with the communities. They also used ICT to communicate their findings for the development of themselves and the community. The personal and community empowerment aspects were expressed and discussed.