Social justice implications of digital science, technology, engineering and mathematics pedagogy: Exploring a South African blended higher education context

Abstract

Higher Education institutions robustly adopted digital pedagogy during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This article reports on a study focussing on postgraduate students’ first-hand experiences of digital pedagogy for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This study was conducted at one higher education institution in South Africa post-COVID-19. The study was framed by the technology acceptance model and a self-constructed conceptual model focusing on key concepts and ideas related to social justice. Forty-seven postgraduate STEM education students participated in the study. A mixed-methods approach guided the data generation for this study, whereby one questionnaire was used to generate quantitative data and four semi-structured focus group interviews assisted in generating qualitative data. Thematic coding, interpretative techniques and NVivo were used to analyse the qualitative data. Excel was used to analyse the quantitative data. The results exhibit the strengths, limitations and implications of digital STEM pedagogy for higher education in a developing country. This study adds to the developing knowledge concerning digital pedagogy for STEM education and social justice issues in developing countries. Using postgraduate STEM education students’ personal experiences of digital pedagogy, this study seeks to contribute to the growing body of research on the social justice implications of using digital pedagogy in higher education. By examining the implications of digital pedagogy for STEM education through a social justice lens, this research can inform curriculum development and pedagogical practices that encourage more inclusive and equitable learning environments.