Educating for expected failure?: Ontological or soteriological perspectives on crossing the digital divide?

This contribution takes as a point of departure an assessment of the impact of the digital divide with specific reference to the education sector in the South African context. A core problem is clearly that such a large proportion of learners drop out of secondary schools, while the pass rates at Ba...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Conradie, Ernst M. 1962- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Stellenbosch University 2023
In: Stellenbosch theological journal
Year: 2023, Volume: 9, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-20
IxTheo Classification:CH Christianity and Society
KBN Sub-Saharan Africa
NCC Social ethics
ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies
Further subjects:B Worldviews
B Ontology
B Education
B Soteriology
B Digital divide
B Inequality
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This contribution takes as a point of departure an assessment of the impact of the digital divide with specific reference to the education sector in the South African context. A core problem is clearly that such a large proportion of learners drop out of secondary schools, while the pass rates at Bachelors level are also alarming. Does this imply that education takes place with a view to expected failure? This contribution explores the question what perspective Christianity and Christian theology can bring to this social reality. It suggests that this perspective is related to the perplexing question what education is there for in the first place. It surveys various options in this regard (knowledge, skills, virtues, values, worldviews) and then argues that education is also about developing interpretative and integrative frameworks, learning to see the world around us in a way that makes sense. On this basis various strategies to cross the deep divides in the South African education system are suggested. However, it is argued that "crossing" the digital divide should not be reduced to offering soteriological answers to questions regarding the nature of education that are primarily ontological in nature.
ISSN:2413-9467
Contains:Enthalten in: Stellenbosch theological journal
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17570/stj.2023.v9n1.at5