Using blended learning in South African social work education to facilitate student engagement

ABSTRACT

The use of blended learning has increased in higher education internationally, and in South Africa specifically. However, the digital divide has widened as a result of various factors, such as urban versus rural geographical locations, and historically advantaged versus historically disadvantaged universities. This study explores the use of blended learning by social work educators to enhance students’ engagement in a classroom setting in nine contact universities. A qualitative study employing an exploratory research design was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 purposively sampled social work educators across various universities in South Africa, and thematic content analysis was conducted to analyze the data. The findings reveal that learning in and outside of the classroom can be fostered by adopting principles for enhancing students’ engagement. Discussion forums, YouTube, Facebook, Podcasts, WhatsApp and blogs were used to engage with, support and empower students meaningfully. In addition, the study reveals the inequalities amongst students that emerged when teaching using blended learning within the South African context.

KEYWORDS:

• Blended learning
• social work education
• student engagement
• social inequalities
• social constructivism

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Division of Research Development at Stellenbosch University.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Z. F. Zimba

Z. F. Zimba is a lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His research interests are family preservation, traditional healing and HIV and AIDS, cultural practices, disabilities and social work education.

P. Khosa

P. Khosa is a lecturer and PhD Candidate in the Department of Social Work at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her fields of research interest include social development and social policy; social work supervision and management; social work education; substance abuse and HIV and AIDS. She is currently the coordinator for first year social work practice education. She teaches first and fourth year level students. She also supervises students at a master’s level.

R. Pillay

R. Pillay is a lecturer in Social Work at the University of the Witwatersrand since June 2009. She has worked in the field of social work for 20 years before joining the academy. She was the recipient of the Thuthuka Grant. Roshini has published in the field of social work education. She holds a PhD degree. Her research interests are meso practice/group work, social work education and Occupational Social Work.