Alleviation of social injustices in STEM education: Harnessing pedagogical affordances of virtual and augmented reality applications through open learning

Abstract

This paper explores the extent to which pedagogical affordances of virtual and augmented reality (VAR) applications can be harnessed as a means to alleviate social injustices in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education through open learning. The enhancement of epistemic and epistemological access in STEM education requires coherent implementation of appropriate strategic interventions which are essentially geared towards the promotion of pedagogic innovation in its broadest sense. The empirical investigation adopted a qualitative research design located within the interpretivist paradigm. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The study is underpinned by the theory of social justice framework as a theoretical lens. Key findings emanating from the study demonstrated that sustainable integration of VAR applications in STEM education can essentially be harnessed as a catalytic tool to address the articulation gap between school and higher education through parity of participation within the broader South African context. The realisation of this key strategic imperative hinges to a large degree on the critical interrogation of enablers and constraints about sustainable utilisation of VAR applications in STEM teaching and learning.