SPATIAL DISPARTIES AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF BLENDED LEARNING IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

The provision of education is a prerequisite for unlocking potential for modern national development and participation in the global knowledge economy. The former is currently focussed more on the 21st century pedagogic technological transformations that are necessary for the implementation of blended learning. That is, planning and governance of infrastructure that is evenly and justly distributed across the country is a significant requirement for the successful implementation of blended learning for national development and participation in the global knowledge economy. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the role of local governance in the provision of pedagogic technologies and the reduction of spatial disparities as a result of various developments between rural and urban areas. Therefore, this paper adopts a desktop study to argue that the provision of blended learning in a developing country such as South Africa will only be effective if the local government is the key role player in planning and governance of necessary pedagogic technological transformations. The provision of education in South Africa promotes the implementation of blended learning which is driven by the reliance on the national blue print planning which however, continues to exacerbate the spatial inequalities between rural and urban areas. The paper concludes that, unlike the national blueprint planning that is currently adopted in the country for the implementation of blended learning, local governance in planning of the pedagogic transformations is required to address the spatial disparities mostly associated with the provision of pedagogic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure necessary for modern national development and participation in the global knowledge economy.  

Keywords

• Planning,Governance,ICT Infrastructure,Spatiality

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