Rethinking Programming Pedagogy amid the Digital Divide: Resources, Appropriation, and Agency in Ekurhuleni Township Schools
Mashite Tshidi 
Issue: Vol.6 No. 11 2025 Article 2 pp. 1070 -1081
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256112-2 | Published online 11th November, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This study explores how Information Technology teachers in Ekurhuleni township schools navigate the complex interplay between digital inequality and programming pedagogy. Although programming has been integrated into the national curriculum through the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) framework, its implementation remains shaped by enduring inequalities in infrastructure, digital literacy, and teacher support. Anchored in an interpretivist paradigm and framed by Resources and Appropriation Theory (RAT) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework (TPACK), the study adopted a qualitative case study design. Four teachers from townships in the Ekurhuleni municipality were purposively selected. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations and was reflexively analysed thematically. Findings reveal that programming teachers routinely confront structural challenges, including unreliable connectivity, insufficient devices, and varying learner competencies. However, they exercise agency through adaptive pedagogical strategies such as contextualised instruction, collaborative learning, and structured problem-solving. The findings call for equity-oriented curriculum reform, increased investment in digital infrastructure, and ongoing teacher support in historically disadvantaged contexts. These strategies mediate the effects of material access and support the development of computational thinking. The study is relevant to current debates on digital inequality. It contributes to scholarship by shifting the focus from deficit-based digital divide narratives to teacher-led adaptations within marginalised learning environments.
Keywords: Computational Thinking, Digital Divide, Programming Pedagogy, Teacher Agency, Township Schools.
Barakabitze, Alcardo Alex, Anangisye William-Andey Lazaro, Neterindwa Ainea, Michael Hamza Mkwizu, Hellen Maziku, Alex Xavery Matofali, Aziza Iddi, and Camillius Sanga. “Transforming African Education Systems in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Using ICTs: Challenges and Opportunities.” Education Research International 2019 (February 3, 2019): 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6946809.
Belmar, Héctor. “Review on the Teaching of Programming and Computational Thinking in the World.” Frontiers in Computer Science 4 (October 19, 2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2022.997222.
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. “Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide,” 2021.
Brianza, Eliana, Mirjam Schmid, Jo Tondeur, and Dominik Petko. “Is Contextual Knowledge a Key Component of Expertise for Teaching with Technology? A Systematic Literature Review.” Computers and Education Open 7 (December 2024): 100201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2024.100201.
Burns, Margie, Jill Bally, Meridith Burles, Lorraine Holtslander, and Shelley Peacock. “Constructivist Grounded Theory or Interpretive Phenomenology? Methodological Choices Within Specific Study Contexts.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 21 (April 26, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221077758.
Cheah, Chin Soon. “Factors Contributing to the Difficulties in Teaching and Learning of Computer Programming: A Literature Review.” Contemporary Educational Technology 12, no. 2 (May 8, 2020): ep272. https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/8247.
Cheruiyot, Koech Charles, and Koech Janeth Chepngetich. “Culture in Design of Coding Toolkits for Young Learners in Developing Economies in Africa: A Review.” Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology 42, no. 24 (August 14, 2023): 43–50. https://doi.org/10.9734/cjast/2023/v42i244177.
Deursen, Alexander JAM van, and Jan AGM van Dijk. “The First-Level Digital Divide Shifts from Inequalities in Physical Access to Inequalities in Material Access.” New Media & Society 21, no. 2 (February 7, 2019): 354–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818797082.
Dijk, Frans van, and Frans van Dijk. “Judicial Independence and Perceptions of Judicial Independence.” Perceptions of the Independence of Judges in Europe: Congruence of Society and Judiciary, 2021, 7–28.
Dijk, JAGM Van. “Digital Divide: Impact of Access.” The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects 1 (2017): 1–11.
Folabit, Novel Lena, Loyiso C. Jita, and Thuthukile Jita. “Impact of Technology Integration on Students’ Sense of Belonging and Well-Being: A Systematic Review.” International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE) 14, no. 2 (April 1, 2025): 1075. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v14i2.30938.
Hudin, Salmiah Salleh. “A Systematic Review of the Challenges in Teaching Programming for Primary Schools’ Students.” Online Journal for TVET Practitioners 8, no. 1 (2023): 75–88.
Makumane, Makhulu A, and Cedric Bheki Mpungose. “Digital Divide: Secondary School Learners’ Experiences of Using Educational Technologies.” Alternation, 2022.
Martins, Ramon Mayor, and Christiane Gresse von Wangenheim. “Teaching Computing to Middle and High School Students from a Low Socio-Economic Status Background: A Systematic Literature Review.” Informatics in Education, May 24, 2023. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2024.01.
Mavuru, Lydia, and Umesh Ramnarain. “Learners’ Socio-Cultural Backgrounds and Science Teaching and Learning: A Case Study of Township Schools in South Africa.” Cultural Studies of Science Education 15, no. 4 (December 18, 2020): 1067–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-020-09974-8.
Mills, Kathy A., Jen Cope, Laura Scholes, and Luke Rowe. “Coding and Computational Thinking Across the Curriculum: A Review of Educational Outcomes.” Review of Educational Research 95, no. 3 (June 2025): 581–618. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241241327.
Mkhlze, Themba Ralph, and Mogamat Noor Davids. “Towards a Digital Resource Mobilisation Approach for Digital Inclusion During COVID-19 and Beyond: A Case of a Township School in South Africa.” Educational Research for Social Change 10, no. 2 (September 1, 2021): 18–32. https://doi.org/10.17159/2221-4070/2021/v10i2a2.
Muccio, Leah S., Julie K. Kidd, C. Stephen White, and M. Susan Burns. “Head Start Instructional Professionals’ Inclusion Perceptions and Practices.” Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 34, no. 1 (May 24, 2014): 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121413502398.
Ni, Lijun, Gillian Bausch, and Rebecca Benjamin. “Computer Science Teacher Professional Development and Professional Learning Communities: A Review of the Research Literature.” Computer Science Education 33, no. 1 (January 2, 2023): 29–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2021.1993666.
Patra, Priyabrata, Jyoti Prakash, B Patra, and Puneet Khanna. “Intimate Partner Violence: Wounds Are Deeper.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry 60, no. 4 (2018): 494–98.
Priya, Arya. “Case Study Methodology of Qualitative Research: Key Attributes and Navigating the Conundrums in Its Application.” Sociological Bulletin 70, no. 1 (January 19, 2021): 94–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920970318.
Rea, Ashley. “Coding Equity: Social Justice and Computer Programming Literacy Education.” IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 65, no. 1 (March 2022): 87–103. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2022.3143965.
Shambare, Brian, and Clement Simuja. “Unveiling the TPACK Pathways: Technology Integration and Pedagogical Evolution in Rural South African Schools.” Computers and Education Open 7 (December 2024): 100206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2024.100206.
Tshidi, Mashite, and Alton Dewa. “The Promise and Peril of Coding & Robotics Education in South Africa: A Scoping Review of Teacher Preparation and Generative Artificial Intelligence’s Potential for Delivering Equity.” Journal of Education, no. 96 (November 12, 2024): 141–64. https://doi.org/10.17159/2520-9868/i96a08.
Waite, Jane, and Sue Sentance. “Teaching Programming in Schools: A Review of Approaches and Strategies.” Raspberry Pi Foundation, 2021, 1–53.
Wald, Navé, and Ben Kei Daniel. “Enhancing Students’ Engagement with Abstract Ideas through Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks.” Innovations in Education and Teaching International 57, no. 4 (July 3, 2020): 496–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2019.1692055.
Wing, Jeannette M. “Computational Thinking.” Communications of the ACM 49, no. 3 (March 2006): 33–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/1118178.1118215.
Mashite Tshidi is a Lecturer at the University of Pretoria and a PhD candidate in Education at the University of the Witwatersrand. His thesis focuses on personalised learning and learning analytics to enhance student engagement and academic performance in higher education. His broader academic interests include programming education, digital equity in township schools, cognitive load theory, and conceptual change in computing education. He has published and presented research on identifying challenging programming concepts using educational data mining and on data-driven interventions to support programming learners. He is an active member of SAARMSTE, SAERA, and IATED, and regularly participates in peer reviewing and the aforementioned academic conferences.
Tshidi, Mashite. “Rethinking Programming Pedagogy amid the Digital Divide: Resources, Appropriation, and Agency in Ekurhuleni Township Schools.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 6, no. 11 (2025): 1070 – 1081. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256112-2.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Featured