Information Systems Education for Development: A Typology of ICT4D Pedagogies

Part 4: Sustainable ICT, Informatics, Education and Learning in a Turbulent World - “Doing the Safari Way” International audience This paper is an attempt to position Information Systems (IS) education within the Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) research and practice discourse. The motivation for the study comes from an understanding that, while the research on ICT4D theories and practice has grown in popularity, there has been very little effort directed towards establishing the link between university education and ICT4D practices. IS education literature is still preoccupied with discussions on curriculum and pedagogies focused on equipping students with instrumental knowledge grounded on the ‘catching up’ and ‘conformist’ IS practices. As a result learners, especially at the undergraduate level, are left with little to no exposure to the IS discourses of reformists and transformists that have been identified as critical to the success of ICT4D. By drawing parallels to other patterns in ICT4D research and practice, this study hopes to shed light on a gap in IS education that, if not addressed, will continue to be a major obstacle to ICT4D initiatives in developing countries.