Facilitating Blended Learning in Underprivileged Contexts

Abstract

The process of enacting the intended curriculum is especially challenging in an underprivileged educational context. Blended learning has proved to be an essential component of the 21st century and the dynamic nature of blended learning requires educators to be more self-directed to deal with changes in the field. The theory of structural functionalism underpins the educational context that the authors discuss in this chapter. It further suggests that curriculum implementation can be augmented by implementing both self-directed curriculum as praxis as well as an integrated framework of blended learning. This framework is composed of the integration of the ‘technological pedagogical content knowledge' and ‘communities of inquiry' frameworks. The authors argue that SDL is fundamental for educators in curriculum enactment and to support curriculum as praxis. By scrutinizing the way in which the structure and functions interact with each other in the underprivileged context, the authors suggest multiple guidelines for educators in curriculum implementation in a blended learning environment.