ICT as a mediation tool for inclusivity in higher education: Critical reflections from Malawi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20853/40-1-6568Keywords:
ICT, inclusive education, higher education, Malawi, mediationAbstract
Recently, there has been increased popularity in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at all levels of education globally and in southern Africa. This situation results from improved access to technologies and the transformative agency possible in the use of ICT in education. In Malawi, the use of ICT in education is more prominent in higher education settings than in the lower levels of education because of the issue of accessibility and proficiency. Even so, the larger discourse on ICT use in higher education pertains to the ‘typical’ student. There is less focus on how ICT can mediate inclusive learning for students with disabilities. Research that has attempted to study the use of ICT among higher education students with disabilities in Malawi focuses on the convenience the ICT brings to such students. Globally, studies agree that ICT presents practical opportunities for implementing inclusive education at all levels of education. These opportunities are largely missed in the current Malawian education setting. From our experiences, we attribute this situation to the lack of connection between ICT and inclusivity. Therefore, this article conceptualises the use of ICT in higher education for inclusivity from a learning instead of convenience perspective. Through our critical reflections as educators in Malawian higher education institutions, we employ Vygotsky’s theoretical framework of mediation and mediating tools to argue that ICT (mediating tool) can facilitate inclusive learning for higher education students with disabilities if used in a manner that influences the subject (students with disabilities) to engage with the object (learning process).
Downloads
References
Adam, Lishan. 2003. “Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education in Africa: Initiatives and Challenges.” Journal of Higher Education in Africa 1, no. 1: 195-221. https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v1i1.1695.
Akour, Mohammad, and Mamdouh Alenezi. 2022. “Higher Education Future in the Era of Digital Transformation.” Education Sciences 12, no. 11: 784. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110784
Alenezi, Abdullah. 2020. “The Role of E-learning Materials in Enhancing Teaching and Learning Behaviours.” International Journal of Information and Education Technology 10, no. 1: 48‒56.
Allan, Julie. 2007. Rethinking Inclusive Education: The Philosophers of Difference in Practice. Dordrecht: Springer.
Artiles, Alfredo J., David Rose, Taucia González, and Aydin Bal, A. 2020. “Culture and Biology in Learning Disabilities Research: Legacies and Possible Futures.” In Handbook of the Cultural Foundations of Learning, edited by Na’ilah S. Nasir, Carol D. Lee, Roy Pea, and Maxine M. de Royston, 160–177. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203774977-11
Atwa, Hani, Mohamed Hany Shehata, Ahmed Al-Ansari, Archana Kumar, Ahmed Jaradat, Jamil Ahmed, and Abdelhalim Deifalla. 2022. “Online, Face-to-Face, or Blended Learning? Faculty and Medical Students’ Perceptions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-method Study.” Frontiers in Medicine 9: 791352. http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-951471/v1
Bond, Melissa, Svenja Bedenlier, Katja Buntins, Michael Kerres, and Olaf Zawacki-Richter. 2020. “Facilitating Student Engagement in Higher Education through Educational Technology: A Narrative Systematic Review in the Field of Education.” Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education 20, no. 2: 315‒368.
Brown, Michael Geoffrey. 2016. “Blended Instructional Practice: A Review of the Empirical Literature on Instructors’ Adoption and Use of Online Tools in Face-to-Face Teaching.” The Internet and Higher Education 31: 1‒10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.05.001
Cavus, Nadire, and Daniel Sekyere-Asiedu. 2021. “A Comparison of Online Video Conference Platforms: Their Contributions to Education During COVID-19 Pandemic”. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues 13, no. 4:1163‒1173. https://doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v13i4.6329.
Chambers, Dianne. 2019. “Assistive Technology to Enhance Inclusive Education.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.155
Chaputula, Harvey Aubrey. 2012. “State, Adoption and Use of ICTs by Students and Academic Staff at Mzuzu University, Malawi.” Program 46, no. 4: 364‒382.
Chawinga, Winner D., and Sandy Zinn. 2016. “Use of Web 2.0 by Students in the Faculty of Information Science and Communications at Mzuzu University, Malawi.” South African Journal of Information Management 18, no. 1: 1‒12. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajim.v18i1.694
Chawinga, Winner Dominic, and Paxton Andrew Zozie. 2016. “Increasing Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning: Empirical Findings from Mzuzu University, Malawi.” International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 17, no. 4: 1‒20.
Chikaipa, Victor, John A. Chirwa, Chikumbutso H. Manthalu, and Anthony M. Gunde. 2021. “Re-imagining Discourses of Disability at Higher Education Institutions in Democratic Malawi.” In Education, Communication and Democracy in Africa: A Democratic Pedagogy for the Future, edited by Chikumbutso Herbert Manthalu, Victor Chikaipa, and Anthony Mavuto Gunde, 187‒203. London: Routledge.
Collins, Ayse, Fara Azmat, and Ruth Rentschler. 2019. “‘Bringing Everyone on the Same Journey’: Revisiting Inclusion in Higher Education.” Studies in Higher Education 44, no. 8: 1475‒1487. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1450852
de Souza, Ben. 2022. “Reframing Policy Trajectory for Inclusive Education in Malawi.” Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal) 88: 69‒86. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2520-9868/i88a05
Gama, Limbani Chrispin, George Theodore Chipeta, and Winner Dominic Chawinga. 2022. “Electronic Learning Benefits and Challenges in Malawi’s Higher Education: A Literature Review.” Education and Information Technologies 27, no. 8: 11201‒11218.
Gondwe, Foster. 2020. “ICT Integration into Teacher Education: Teacher Educators’ Experiences of Policy at Two Teacher Education Institutions in Malawi.” Journal of International Development Studies 29, no. 1: 117‒128. https://doi.org/10.32204/jids.29.1_117
Gunda, Marianne Nsanja. 2015. “An Investigation of Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Tertiary Learning Institutions: A Case Study of Two Public Universities in Malawi.” Masters diss., Mzuzu University.
Heeks, Richard. 2017. Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). London: Taylor and Francis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00472395211047865
Kadzamira, Esme C., and Pauline Rose. 2001. Educational Policy Choice and Policy Practice in Malawi: Dilemmas and Disjunctures. No. 124. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
Kadzamira, Zimani David. 2020. “Higher Education Systems and Institutions, Malawi.”. In The International Encyclopedia of Higher Education Systems and Institutions, edited by Pedro Nuno Teixeira, and Jung Cheol Shin, 1‒5. Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8905-9_459
Kalembera, Lloyd, and Felix Majawa. 2015. “The Integration of ICTs into the Learning Activities of the College of Medicine Undergraduate Students.” In 2015 IST-Africa Conference, 1-10. IEEE. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ISTAFRICA.2015.7190528
Kamchedzera, Elizabeth Tikondwe. 2010. “Education of Pupils with Disabilities in Malawi's Inclusive Secondary Schools: Policy, Practice and Experiences.” PhD diss., University of Warwick. https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/55933/
Kamchedzera, Elizabeth Tikondwe. 2015. “Access and Equity for Students with Disabilities at the University of Malawi: The Case of Chancellor College.” In Knowledge for a Sustainable World: A Southern African-Nordic Contribution, edited by Tor Halvorsen, Hilde Ibsen, and Vyvienne RP M’kumbuzi, 71-92. Cape Town: African Minds.
Kayange, Albert. K. 2019. “E-learning Encounters in Malawi Higher Education Institutions.” International Journal for E-Learning Security (IJeLS) 8, no. 1: 592‒603. http://dx.doi.org/10.20533/ijels.2046.4568.2019.0074
Kirkup, Gill, and Adrian Kirkwood. 2005. “Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in Higher Education Teaching—A Tale of Gradualism Rather Than Revolution.” Learning, Media and Technology 30, no. 2: 185‒199.
Kozlova, Diana, and Marcel Pikhart. 2021. “The Use of ICT in Higher Education from the Perspective of the University Students.” Procedia Computer Science 192 (2021): 2309‒2317.
Malawi Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. 2017. National Strategy on Inclusive Education 2017‒2021: Towards an Inclusive Education System in Malawi. Lilongwe: Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Malawi Ministry of Information and Tourism. 2006. Malawi National ICT for Development (ICT4D) Policy. Lilongwe: Ministry of Information.
Malawi Ministry of Information. 2013. The Malawi Digital Broadcasting Policy. Lilongwe: Ministry of Information.
Mishra, Sanjaya. 2017. “Open Educational Resources: Removing Barriers from Within.” Distance Education 38, no. 3: 369‒380.
Moriña, Anabel. 2019. “Inclusive Education in Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities.” European Journal of Special Needs Education 31, no 1: 3‒17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1254964
Morley, Christine. 2008. “Critical Reflection as a Research Methodology.” In Knowing Differently: Arts-based and Collaborative Research Methods, edited by Pranee Liamputtong, and Jean Rumbold, 265‒280. New York: Nova Publishers.
Mpungose, Cedric Bheki, and Simon Bheki Khoza. 2022. “Postgraduate Students’ Experiences on the Use of Moodle and Canvas Learning Management System.” Technology, Knowledge and Learning 27, no. 1: 1‒16. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10758-020-09475-1
Nawaz, Allah, Zahid Awan, and Bashir Ahmad. 2011. “Integrating Educational Technologies in Higher Education of the Developing Countries.” Journal of Education and Practice 2, no. 2: 1‒13.
Odunga, Jack O. 2024. “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Interventions for Enhancing Access to Education in Rural sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.” Journal of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO 4, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.62049/jkncu.v4i1.80 .
Owens, Taya Louise. 2017. “Higher Education in the Sustainable Development Goals Framework.” European Journal of Education 52, no. 4: 414‒420. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12237
Pather, Sulochini. 2019. “Confronting Inclusive Education in Africa since Salamanca.” International Journal of Inclusive Education 23, no. 7‒8: 782-795. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1623329
Pavel, Adina-Petruta, Andreas Fruth, and Monica-Nicoleta Neacsu. 2015. “ICT and E-learning–Catalysts for Innovation and Quality in Higher Education.” Procedia Economics and Finance 23: 704‒711.
Perera-Rodríguez, Víctor-Hugo, and Anabel Moriña-Díez. 2019. “Technological Challenges and Students with Disabilities in Higher Education.” Exceptionality 27, no. 1: 65‒76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2017.1409117
Salmi, Jamil, and Anna D’Addio. 2021. “Policies for Achieving Inclusion in Higher Education.” Policy Reviews in Higher Education 5, no. 1: 47‒72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1835529
Sharifov, Mahammad, and Abdulsalam S. Mustafa. 2020. “Review of Prevailing Trends, Barriers and Future Perspectives of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in Higher Institutions.” The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 10, no. 3: 166‒173.
Singh, Jitendra, Keely Steele, and Lovely Singh. 2021. “Combining the Best of Online and Face-to-Face Learning: Hybrid and Blended Learning Approach for COVID-19, Post Vaccine, & Post-pandemic World.” Journal of Educational Technology Systems 50, no. 2: 140‒171.
Tokareva, Elena A., Yulia V. Smirnova, and Larisa G. Orchakova. 2019. “Innovation and Communication Technologies: Analysis of the Effectiveness of Their Use and Implementation in Higher Education.” Education and Information Technologies 24, no. 5: 3219‒3234.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO]. 2023. Global Education Monitoring Report: Technology in Education–A Tool on Whose Terms? Paris: UNESCO.
Unwin, Tim. 2017. Reclaiming Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Viner, Mark, Ajay Singh, and Michael F. Shaughnessy. 2020. “Assistive Technology to Help Students with Disabilities.” In Special Education Design and Development Tools for School Rehabilitation Professionals, edited by Ajay Singh, Mark Viner, and Chia Jung Yeh, 240‒267. Pennsylvania: IG Global.
Vygotsky, Lev S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, Lev S. 1981. “The Genesis of Higher Mental Functions.” In The Concept of Activity in Soviet Psychology, translated and edited by James V. Wertsch, 144‒188. New York: M.E. Sharpe.
Wong, Daniel W., Kimberly R. Hall, and Lucy Wong Hernandez. 2020. Counselling Individuals Through the Lifespan (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Ben de Souza
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors, copyright holders, may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors' publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: This is an electronic version of an article published in SAJHE, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX “XXX", DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/SAJHE) may be found.
Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University Institutional Repository SUNScholar.
Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.
The following license applies:
Attribution CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
