The Use of Media in a South African School: A Case Study of Khabazela High School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Media can be a valuable resource in the teaching and learning of Religion Studies in South African schools. However, many Religion Studies teachers do not have the proper training on how to use media responsibly as an educational resource to make the subject relevant to the learners. This paper investigates what forms of media are used in the teaching and learning of Religion Studies in a South African secondary school. A case study research of four teachers and twenty learners was conducted at Khabazela High School in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The study reveals that various media in the form of magazines, newspapers, films, YouTube1 and Facebook2 were used in Religion Studies classrooms. It also shows that the teachers at the school particularly relied on media as a teaching resource since they had minimal or no training in the subject. I conclude that while the inclusion of media is a valuable resource for both learners and teachers in the Religion Studies classroom, teachers still require more training for the subject especially on how to effectively use media as a teaching tool.