Barriers And Constraints To Epistemological Access To Online Learning In Mozambique Schools

Abstract

While global corporations and western governments have subtly and systematically

peddled the utopia and hype about the capacity of information and communication

technologies (ICTs) to radically transform learning and pedagogy and African

governments have unquestionably acquiesced with heft investments in ICTs the

education sector, few academics and policy makers have ever questioned and taken stock

of the contribution of technology to online learning. More importantly, the heavy

investments in ICTs infrastructure modeled along Western ICTs hubs have been

parachuted without sufficient contextualisation to suit the structural realities of resourceconstrained

environments. Moreso, hardly have interventions been aligned with

academics and learners’ extent of e-readiness and ICT literacy levels to ensure effective

appropriation, adaptation and sustained use of ICTs. Drawing on African examples and

Mozambican education system as a case study, we demonstrate the complexities and

subtle nuances of consolidating ICTs access for teaching and learning in an environment

riddled by abject poverty, weak erratic power supply, underdeveloped ICTs architecture

and cultural barriers that undermine certain societal groups’ access to ICTs. We argue

that the institution of a robust ICT architecture at national and institutional levels should

be constructively aligned with its grassroot implementation (at institutional levels) to

foster epistemological access to ICTs, the development of ‘best practices’ of pedagogy

and a culturally responsive, knowledge rich environments. We further argue that ICTs

should become bridging zones for the integration and alignment of community based

knowledge (tacit, personal knowledge) and institutional (school) knowledge through creating liberal spaces for their experimentation with different forms of knowledge

(Rambe forthcoming).