Telling digital stories: final-year pre-service student teachers’ perceptions of diversity in the classroom in south africa

Abstract

Addressing the historical educational inequalities in Higher Education amongst different races is a central policy goal since the political transition in 1994 in South Africa. Managing diversity in South African classrooms is one of the main challenges for all South African teachers. One strategy is digital storytelling which is a short, first person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sound. Digital storytelling facilitates the convergence of four student-centered learning strategies: student engagement, reflection for deep learning, project-based learning, and the effective integration of technology into teaching. A qualitative research design was used with thirty final-year pre-service teachers. Data consisted of the thirty written stories and a recording of a focus-group interview with ten purposely selected participants from the group. From the analysis of the data collected, the following themes became evident: personal and professional development, an eagerness to challenge the issue of diversity in their classrooms next year and how this shared experience has created a strong class bond.