Digital Curricular Transformation and Fourth Industrial Revolution 4.0 (4IR): Deepening Divides or Building Bridges

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, many traditional contact higher education institutions, such as the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), embraced the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to pursue their mandates. Such transitions necessitate transforming existing curricula into digitised versions that infuse digital technologies into programme delivery and embed digital learning experiences students need to thrive in the 4IR workplace. However, two years into online education, the extent to which the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) curriculum in the School of Education (SoE) at UKZN integrates digital technologies in programme offerings remain largely uncertain. This article therefore aims to ascertain how the B.Ed curriculum of the SoE has been digitally transformed to support the production of teachers who are prepared for the 4IR classroom. It further explores whether or not the digital curriculum transformation of the B.Ed curriculum deepens the existing digital divide amongst students or builds bridges for digital learning. Stufflebeam’s context, input, process, and product (CIPP) model was relied upon to appreciate students’ digital learning experiences through a qualitative content review of twelve curriculum templates and moderation reports. The findings suggested varied learning experiences of content and digital skills for students who engaged with the digital B.Ed curriculum while pointing to a possible epistemological limitation for some students due the contextual digital divide. Insights from this article will be helpful to academics and the institution in their quest to produce graduates for the 4IR classroom while making a timeous contribution to the scholarship of teaching and learning to enhance sustainable post-COVID-19 pedagogical practices. Keywords: Digital transformation, 4IR classroom, Digitalised curriculum, Digital divide.