Abstract
It has been widely acknowledged that science has traditionally been monopolised by Western paradigms. Various fields in the social sciences have realised that research is necessary to create sensitivity to the need for decolonisation in these fields. In the field of Information Systems (IS), and especially in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), some work has been done on decolonisation. However, little has been done in terms of the Africanisation of HCI and Business Analysis (BA).
The research question for this article is: How can undergraduate HCI and BA syllabi be amended to facilitate the Africanisation of teaching and learning IS? The research aims to address this question by exploring the curriculum content of two HCI and BA modules at an Open Distance eLearning (ODeL) institution in South Africa (the University) to determine to what extent African perspectives are reflected in the module content, as well as in the teaching and learning approaches, and how deficiencies regarding localisation can be addressed.
The article’s research philosophy is positivist since the study primarily uses statistical instruments. The study follows an exploratory approach. Due to a potentially large number of student participants, a quantitative survey was used to determine the experience of the students of two HCI and BA modules regarding their course material. To Africanise the syllabus, two African case studies were used in formative assessments. Per module, one case was used as a basis for the application of theoretical principles in two formative assignments.
The questionnaire was self-designed. To ensure content validity, the researchers formulated pre-set questions based on the information found in the literature. However, they did not formulate hypotheses to be tested because the aim was not to find widely generalisable results but to obtain rich data about specific student groups. Before any empirical work was conducted, ethical clearance was obtained from the University’s college and institutional ethics committees. All participants were informed that their participation was voluntary, that they could withdraw at any time and that their responses would be reported anonymously.
A qualified statistician was consulted to assist the researchers with the design and quantitative analysis of the questionnaires. Any raw data collected by SurveyMonkey that could be used to identify participants (such as the participants’ email addresses or student numbers) was deleted before the data was shared with the statistician. The statistician signed a confidentiality agreement. All empirical work was conducted in line with the COVID-19 requirements that were active in the country and at the University when the research was conducted. After the quantitative data had been cleaned, it was analysed by the statistician with SAS JMP Version 15 and R Version 4.02. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed for each section of the quantitative survey. The extraction was done using principal axis factoring with the quartimin rotation method.
The statistical analysis revealed 15 constructs, the results of which are now presented briefly. Although the participants had a balanced perception of the construct current theory (C1), they had a stronger positive opinion about the construct amended theory needed (C2). These results indicate that, although the current theory in the textbooks may be sufficient and relevant to some extent, there is a gap in the curricula in terms of the exclusion of African ways of knowing.
There was a balanced perception among the participants regarding the current practical examples (C3) in the textbooks. A small majority of the participants indicated that the current textbooks did not include African scenarios but perceived the current (Western) practical examples as relevant and sufficient. The construct more appropriate practical examples needed (C4) showed some support for the suggestion that there was room for more localised practical examples. A convincing majority of the respondents agreed that the practical examples in the textbook should not only be adapted for the African environment but, even better, be complemented with African scenarios.
The participants agreed that the African case study description (C5) complemented the theory in their textbooks with a slightly positive opinion among the respondents about the stories of the African case studies. A significant majority of respondents indicated that it localised the theoretical concepts and enhanced their knowledge of African ways of knowing.
The use of an African case study in each of the two HCI and BA courses was a cautious step in decolonising interaction design, as well as management and organisation knowledge. Both constructs enjoyment (C6) and fulfilment (C7) showed that overall, the participants felt positively about the intervention. They felt at home with the assignments and found the questions interesting, leading to an enjoyable course experience. The practical examples were also made more suitable for their environment by disclosing how African customs could be embedded in software design.
The construct current Africanised software (C8) suggested a neutral experience amongst the participants regarding current software used in Africa. The construct items dealt with aspects such as the intuitive use of smartphone, laptop and desktop applications. Although the respondents experienced current smartphone applications as sufficiently intuitive to use, far fewer said the same thing about laptop and desktop applications. Surprisingly, small minorities also indicated that current software sufficiently reflected African customs on all types of devices.
The construct dealing with external resources (C9) showed that most of the students did not use devices or data that did not belong to themselves. Student activities (C10) explored the use of social media, WhatsApp groups and the University’s learning management system to communicate with other students. Smaller majorities indicated that they had to identify and download apps themselves to better understand the concept of Africanisation and its application, which they needed to answer the assignment questions. The results for the construct own resources (C11) confirmed that most of the participants used their own resources, such as smartphones and laptops, to evaluate applications for the assignments.
One construct reflected on the lecturing staff’s guidance (C12). A small majority of the participants felt that the lecturers provided enough guidance to answer the assignment questions which prepared them for the final examination. Overall, they were also satisfied with the administration of the module regarding the African case study assignments. Yet, they did not always seem to know what was expected of them to answer the questions satisfactorily. The students acknowledged that the e-tutors provided extra guidelines and study material. The students found the online seminars helpful and believed that it also helped them to prepare for the examination.
The items that dealt with the marking of the assignments and the model answers provided to the students after grading constituted better understanding (C13). A convincingly large majority of the respondents indicated that the model answers improved their understanding of both the theory and its application. They could use the answers provided as examples to self-evaluate their own attempts. A smaller majority felt that the markers understood the practical examples that the students provided and that their feedback comments helped them to understand the theory better.
The items of the construct impact of doing African case study assignments (C14) dealt with higher-order thinking skills. The students indicated convincingly that completing the assignments promoted their learning activities and nurtured their critical skills. It helped them to memorise the theory. It also improved their field knowledge and assisted them in defining concepts and understanding the theoretical principles and their application. Furthermore, it not only stimulated innovative thinking but also cultivated their analytical skills. They learned how to evaluate scenarios and how to integrate theoretical and practical constructs, thus improving their synthesising skills.
From the results of the final construct student experience (C15), it can be concluded that there was a relatively positive student experience of the intervention. Even though they had to read extra study material, the participants felt strongly that the theoretical and practical course content should be Africanised.
The research contributes towards the Africanisation of the HCI and BA disciplines, with specific reference to undergraduate syllabi. The two case studies with an African focus used during student assignments serve as an example of how formative assessments can be used to sensitise students and lecturing staff about issues of decoloniality in the disciplines.
The authors realise that the use of African case studies is just one way of bringing about educational change. Ideally, adjusted study material should be complemented with revised didactic principles and teaching tactics. This is more difficult to achieve since it may require a paradigm shift in terms of a lecturer’s pedagogic beliefs. While our effort allowed students to integrate their life worlds into their studies, there is still a gap in how the lecturers can guide their students in this regard. More papers on Africanised HCI and BA should be included in the prescribed study material to serve as examples to stimulate students’ critical and innovative thinking. Lecturers themselves need further training to become successful proponents of the Africanisation of undergraduate learning content. We trust that the research made a humble but concrete contribution towards the Africanisation of HCI and BA.
Keywords: Africanisation; Business Analysis; decolonisation; Human-Computer Interaction; learning; teaching
- This article’s featured image was created by Hannah Wei and obtained from Unsplash.