Several authors have called for the expansion to Bourdieu’s view of capital to include the “digital dimension” (Paino & Renzulli, 2012, Sterne, 2003). Their (ibid.) argument holds that computer proficiency may enhance the student’s success in class which will result in scoring higher evaluations in academic performance which can lead to better job placement. This can be linked to Lareau & Lamont’s claim that academic skills form part of cultural capital and that technology competence should be included in our view of cultural capital (2003). Maitland & Obeysekare explicitly links cultural capital to competence which includes ICT skills which can become embodied capital (2015). This argument is also supported by Seiter who equates the time invested to master the piano or ICT tools, to the extent that the body automatically takes on the required position for the instrument or tool, as an example of embodied cultural
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capital. O’Keeffe introduced the term “technocultural capital” to refer to the study interactions with and relationships to, technology” (2009:38). Kvasny supports this view in claiming “we use the term digital inequality to represent the historical patterns of social stratification that result in the unequal to and use of ICT” (2002:1798). Social stratification is determined by the value system of the education system, which is part of Bourdieu’s cultural capital. Academic skills incorporate the ability and skills to use technology, thus technology can be viewed as part of cultural capital. Emmison & Frow used the data from Australian Everyday Culture Project, to assess how cultural capital can include information technology (1998). They conclude that the access to and use of learning technologies that students have at home, makes it easier to use and excel in it at school level. This in turn caused divides, since some students have grown up with learning technologies compared to others who might only learn about it at an educational institution. Their results showed that households with many books also displayed a familiarity with ICTs (ibid.). Emmerson & Frow concludes that familiarity with ICTs can form part of cultural capital since it is in line with items Bourdieu associates with cultural capital (1998:44).
2.7 Summary
In summary I present my application of Bourdieu's theory in this study. This is a representation of how I perceive my students’ habitus, capital and field.
[
+ ] + =
Competent ICT use for English developmentThis schematic illustration can further be explained as:
[(The sum-total of innate characteristics of the student formed by his environment)
This is evaluated to determine the students' English and digital literacy current development levels
+ (The investment and relationships the students had formed)] Habitus: Inherent/ innate knowledge What students do to cope/ investment HEUW PoL English class
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+ the university ICT integrated environment
= the successful application of technology to improve English proficiency
If the students are aware and familiar with the ICT integrated English language rules, learning will excel.
This chapter has shown how Bourdieu’s cultural capital will be used to explain the difference in first year students’ language- and ICT development. Bourdieu attends to both language and technology and how the school system uses both to uphold its status quo. Eshet-Alkalai’s concept of digital literacy will be used to evaluate PoL students’ varied digital skills. This helps the lecturer to know the type of skills their students have before designing technology-oriented lessons that might leave other students out because they were not exposed to technology at an earlier time. It also highlighted the role of the teacher to ensure the successful integration of technology in the classroom to produce modern productive citizens. The following chapter will shed light on the methods this study will use to develop empirical research on the inclusion and interpretation of ICTs at a higher institute in Namibia.
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CHAPTER THREE: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this study was to find out why students coming from the same public secondary school education system enter university, with diverse digital literacy skills despite Namibia’s detailed ICT Policy for Education. This chapter presents a brief overview of the methods used to collect and analyse the data from the sample. This includes a brief reflection of the key ideas of the theory underpinning this study, the research design, context of the case, sample, research instruments, data analysis, validity and the ethics to safe guard the participants.
3.2 Theoretical foundation
For the purpose of this study, cultural and social capital was used to help understand the differences in the students’ digital literacy skills. Whilst the idea to integrate technology in the English class was implemented to be beneficial to students it also had the potential to bring about different kinds of divides. Using technology in the English class was not meant to be a divider, but an equalizer, ensuring that all students in class were comfortable with the use of computers to improve their language proficiency. The intention of this study was to reveal if PoL students have embodied the use of computers in the English class or if it has resulted in some students being disadvantaged.
In this study, cultural capital is evaluated to assess if students are willing to develop their digital literacy or if they perceive it as something for an elite group of people. The use of Bourdieu’s cultural capital will help PoL lecturers gain a better understanding of their students’ varied digital literacies to produce better support programmes. This will ensure education is not used to create further divides between those digital- literate and illiterate students.
Drawing on Eshet-Alkalai’s definition of digital literacy this study tested the presence of all five types of literacies namely, photo-visual-, reproduction-, socio-emotional-, information- and branching literacy (Eshet-Alkalai &Chejut, 2005).
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3.3 Research design
This study followed an interpretative research approach. According to Biggam interpretive is “time and context dependent” (2010:93). The aim of this study was to focus on the specific needs of PoL students, and gaining a clear understanding of their problem. Another advantage of interpretive paradigm is that the research “begins with individuals and set out to understand their interpretations of the world around them” (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2003: 23). This view places the focus on how the participants create meaning of the world around them. An interpretivist approach allowed for the study to focus on understanding how the PoL student responds to the use of ICTs in the English class. This study aimed to make sense of how the participants cope with the integration of ICTs in their English classes, “a subjective meaning of social action” (Bryman, 2012: 712).
3.3.1 Research type
This study followed a single study qualitative research design type. Yin (2003:5) defines a case study as an “empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.” A qualitative design accommodates a case study strategy and various methods of collecting data such as interviews and questionnaires. These methods are essential to dig deep to answer why the students still struggle with basic ICT integration (Biggam, 2010).
3.3.2 Research approach
The research strategy was a case study since the aim was to gather information on why some students do not have the required digital literacy skills compared to others. Bryman notes a disadvantage with the case study approach, was that the results cannot be generalized (2012). However, this was not a point to contest in this study, since the aim was to find out what was happening to a specific group of students. This study sought to help gain insight as to how prepared students are to handle the integration of ICTs in class, to help English lecturers develop more conscious ICT integration lessons, mindful of the abilities of their students.
3.4 Context of case
Being the e-learning developer for PoL gave me the unique opportunity to observe students in the lab sessions while they were interacting with the ICT tool. I used
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participant observation to help formulate the problem students had with ICTs as part of their learning English. PoL, is a compulsory course for students who did not score an A symbol in the grade 12 school examination, is the second of five English courses on offer at this higher institute of learning. Most of the students who enroll for PoL are first year students, who have either scored a B in their grade 12 examination for English or have completed the first English course at HEUW. Namibia’s grade 12 learners have the option to choose from three different levels of complexity when it comes to their examinations. The Higher level learners receive their scores from one to four, with one being the highest mark. Then the second option is the Extended level, where learners can score form an A grade. Lastly, is the lowest level, Core or also known as Ordinary level, here learners can only score a C symbol as their highest mark. These students are not English mother-tongue speakers. During the first semester there are about eight to ten class groups compared to the second semester where there is nearly twice as many class groups, with up to seven or more lecturers to teach the course pending the total number of students registered. During the second semester, the bulk of the first year students would have completed the first English course and qualified to do PoL. The primary focus of the course is to teach grammar, comprehension, essay-writing and critical reading skills to ensure academic success. The course is offered in a blended mode and comprises four sessions per week: two face-to-face and two lab sessions. A percentage of the continuous assessment mark is awarded for the online component: Moodle. Students are required to complete online tests and quizzes, participate in forums and follow course related announcements on Moodle. The HEUW uses Moodle as the learning management system for the delivery of eLearning courses. “Moodle is a course management system designed to help educators who want to create quality online courses” (Wambui & Black, 2008:2). The incorporation of Moodle provides the PoL students and the lecturers the opportunity to show case their proficiency of the technology to enhance English language development. Paino & Renzulli (2012:136) state, “[s]Students must be proficient on the computer and this proficiency must be visible to others.”
3.4.1 Sampling
Bryman (2012:715) defines random sampling as the process “whereby the inclusion of a unit of a population occurs entirely by chance”. I went to two PoL
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classes which has an average of 30 students per class. I had asked a colleague, who was going to teach a PoL class after my class, if I could visit his class to invite students who would be willing to participate in the study. This study used the data collected from 47 participants, who came from 12 different regions (Appendix A), and had completed a student questionnaire. During the class visit, twelve students had indicated their willingness to participate in the interviews. However, only five students came for the interview session; three formed the focus group and four the student interviews. Students were told that participation in this study is a voluntary process and no pressure would be applied to force them to attend the interviews. The fifth participant was a second year student, who was doing PoL for the second time, thus that data was excluded from this study. The students in the interviews and focus group were told that they were volunteering and as such could exit at any stage of the process. I preferred to invite students from the other PoL classes since it placed no obligation on them to participate compared to using students in my class. In addition to the students, I had also interviewed two lecturers; one serving as online technical support officer and the other as coordinator of one of the technical courses. I had selected these two lecturers purposely since they work with all first year students specifically on developing technical competence. Appendix B provides an illustration of the setup at HEUW and the formation of the sample.
3.5 Research instruments
Biggam (2010) and Brynam (2012) both talk about the benefit of triangulation to improve the quality and type of data to collect. Triangulation is the process of collecting data in different forms: questionnaires, student- and faculty interviews and focus group discussion. Brynam adds that triangulation allows for cross checking of findings (2012:717). In addition to the amount of data collected, in-depth data was also collected. Triangulation was used as the validation of data through cross verification of the different forms of data collected.
3.5.1 Questionnaires
The research methods comprised a questionnaire to assess what students think of their technical abilities and to glean their cultural and social capital (Appendix D). The questionnaire was structured around the four research questions. The six
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headings covered topics from the participants’ high school background to first -and current experiences with ICT tools and the integration of ICTs in the English class. I handed out questionnaires to three PoL lecturers who had administered it. I had approached the first three lecturers who were in their offices. Fortunately, they had all agreed to administer the questionnaires after I had explained my study and the purpose for- and the questions on the questionnaire. Since I was not present to select students to complete the questionnaire, I added a question for students to supply the first six digits of their student number. This was to ensure that I only use first year students. It often happens that students pass all their other first year courses other than English. These students then progress to the next year, repeating English on the side. Since these students do not have a current first year experience, I had excluded them from the study. Each of the three lecturers was given 30 copies of the questionnaire, enough for one class. Of the 90 questionnaires, 47 were first years, doing different programmes in different faculties at HEUW, and all doing PoL for the first time; 19 questionnaires were empty and 24 were not first year students (Appendices B & C). Some students were absent the day when the lecturers administered the test, resulting in 19 empty questionnaires. The aim of the questionnaire was to support the interview data and to support the triangulation of data. Students were informed that it was optional to complete the questionnaires. However, no-one was allowed to take it home. The questionnaires were completed and handed in class and returned to me via the three lecturers.
3.5.2 Interviews
To gain a better understanding of their replies students were invited to a semi- structured interview session (Appendix D). Bauer states “text… is sometimes more telling”, which makes interviews an ideal tool to gather in-depth information on the topic (2000:131). This was an ideal opportunity to question students to reveal the various forms of their cultural capital. The questions were structured around the four research questions but not limited to it as displayed in the data. Students spoke at length of their computer user skill class and the ICT integration difficulties they had experienced (Appendix E).
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The questions for the faculty interview were also centered on the four research questions (Appendix F). The interviews with the lecturers were interesting since it supported what the students had to say. Each signed a consent form to use their experiences and for the recording of the session. The interviews were held in the language lab as it is a neutral setting yet familiar to the students. However, the lecturers’ interviews were held in their offices since it was their natural environment. Upon obtaining permission from the participants, I used my iPhone to record the sessions, since it was less obtrusive and easy to use. After the interviews, the recordings were transferred to my computer from where it was transcribed verbatim to a Word document and saved as an audio onto my desktop.
3.5.3 Focus group discussion
In a similar fashion, I had recorded the focus group discussion also held in the language lab. The interviewees were invited to a focus group discussion to validate the data collected from the interviews and questionnaires. However, this time around the idea was to hear from them of the problems they had experienced with ICT integration and what strategies they had used to cope (Appendix F). Only three students, two male and one female attended the session. Although the one male was a bit dominant, the other two participants also joined in the conversation. Where they had similar experiences they would agree by nodding or smiling in approval to what was shared. They had many similar experiences but also individual experiences which added great value to the data collected. This interview was also transcribed and saved as a text and audio format.