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

Year 2019, Volume: 11 Issue: 1, 99 - 115, 01.01.2019

Tlou Ramoroka

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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