128 lines
4.1 KiB
YAML
128 lines
4.1 KiB
YAML
abstract: 'Purpose The objective of this study is to present evidence regarding how
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young people, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in
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South Africa, lack literacy skills and access to enabling resources to
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actively search and navigate information services systems that are
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primarily web-based. Information Poverty Theory is adopted to better
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understand the technological and social strata challenges experienced by
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young NEET people. Design/methodology/approach The study used
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semi-structured interviews for collecting data over two months in 2018,
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employing snowball sampling with 24 key participants, representing a
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diversity of educational backgrounds and previous experience of economic
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participation. Findings The findings of this study suggest that most
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interviewed young people, who are NEET, lack advanced information
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literacy and digital skills to access information services. The results
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also indicate that access to information services that are primed for
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online information is a challenge for most of these NEET young people
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residing in underserviced communities. The high cost of an Internet
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connection means that the Internet is out of reach for most low-income
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households. In communities that are underserviced with no adequate
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information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, people
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residing in such areas are subjected to living in circumstances where
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there is poverty and thus a lack of access to online information.
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Research limitations/implications This paper reports on data collected
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in 2018 using intense interviews, while acknowledging limitations in
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terms of the sample size. Hence, it is not fully representative of the
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whole population of young people, who are NEET, residing in the Gauteng
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Province of South Africa. Practical implications The findings illustrate
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the need for further collaboration among relevant stakeholders to
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strengthen existing programmes and for stronger partnerships. The
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arguments presented herein enhance knowledge and understanding
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concerning the digital literacy skills divide that exists among young
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people who are NEET. It includes a discussion to contribute to policy
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development. Originality/value This study focuses on challenges young
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people who are NEET experience when looking for work and developmental
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opportunities. This qualitative study adopts Information Poverty Theory
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and uses prior studies to link the undertaken survey and research. It is
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expected that this study may serve as a pilot for future studies and may
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also contribute to the ongoing discussions around the use of ICTs on
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their use and access, especially the effect on young people when
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searching for information related to jobs and other developmental
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opportunities using online services.'
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affiliation: 'Matli, W (Corresponding Author), Univ South Africa, Pretoria, South
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Africa.
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Matli, Walter; Ngoepe, Mpho, Univ South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.'
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author: Matli, Walter and Ngoepe, Mpho
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author-email: 'wmatli7@gmail.com
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ngoepems@unisa.ac.za'
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author_list:
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- family: Matli
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given: Walter
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- family: Ngoepe
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given: Mpho
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da: '2023-09-28'
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doi: 10.1108/HESWBL-05-2020-0107
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earlyaccessdate: SEP 2021
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eissn: 2042-390X
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files: []
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issn: 2042-3896
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journal: HIGHER EDUCATION SKILLS AND WORK-BASED LEARNING
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keywords: 'Digital access; Digital inequalities; Information poverty; NEET; Digital
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literacy skills; South Africa'
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keywords-plus: LITERACY
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language: English
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month: MAY 9
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number: '3'
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number-of-cited-references: '46'
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orcid-numbers: 'Matli, Walter/0000-0003-3440-900X
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Ngoepe, Mpho/0000-0002-6241-161X'
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pages: 419-436
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papis_id: fbc29acba3b6ed3affb94d0eda571374
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ref: Matli2022extendinginformation
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researcherid-numbers: 'Matli, Walter/AAQ-5255-2021
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'
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times-cited: '1'
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title: Extending information poverty theory to better understand the digital access
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and inequalities among young people who are not in education, employment or training
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in South Africa
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type: article
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unique-id: WOS:000696650100001
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usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
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usage-count-since-2013: '22'
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volume: '12'
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web-of-science-categories: Education \& Educational Research
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year: '2022'
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