FACTORS IMPEDING TEACHERS FROM USING NEW LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES IN RURAL SETTINGS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF INGWAVUMA VILLAGE

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the challenges faced by teachers working in rural schools in South Africa and to highlight the factors which impede them when trying to use new learning technologies in the classroom in their bid to move with the times and thus remain relevant educators. Although South Africa far surpasses most of the countries on the African continent both in terms of financial resources and general infrastructure, the state of rural communities in the country is discouraging at best and frustrating at worse. Not surprisingly, education institutions are not immune to this reality. Teachers have to contend with this situation on a daily basis. The paper is a result of studies conducted by this author in one of the rural communities of KwaZulu-Natal province at a place called Ingwavuma. These studies which were carried out between 2009 and 2011 used interviews, group participation, direct observation, survey questionnaires and document analysis as data collection methods. The results show that despite South Africa having so many resources and a world-acclaimed National Constitution, rural communities such as those of Ingwavuma do not get a fair deal from government. They continue to linger in incessant poverty. The paper thus investigates the reasons for this state of affairs, demonstrates its extent and proposes possible solutions to the problems observed.