A review of theoretical frameworks in educational information and communication technology research at leading South African Universities

M.Ed.Despite the substantial body of Educational Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research there is very little evidence that the theoretical frameworks that underpin research studies have been considered, or applied optimally. The central argument of this dissertation is that theoretical frameworks serve as epistemological guides that account for the knowledge that is produced in a study. The purpose of this inquiry is to explore how theoretical frameworks are evident in selected masters dissertations and doctoral theses at selected South African universities. A blended theoretical framework, situated in interpretivist theory, with an element of critical theory and positivist theory frames this study. A review of components of research dissertations required both quantified and qualitative data. A mixed methods approach was used to conduct a methodological inventory - cum survey review of 103 texts. A research template was devised in order to record and analyse the data that would be isolated in a reading of the texts, with specific reference to the sections of texts that showed the use of terms related to theoretical frameworks. The findings reveal that studies that were theoretically developed yielded data that could be interpreted in more depth, while a substantial majority of authors that employed their theoretical frameworks in a very limited way, presented findings that were no more than descriptive in nature. I conclude that the reason for the theoretically impoverished studies is possibly, more broadly speaking, located in the wider South African socio-economic, political and localised context. South African Higher Education Institutions face pressures of having to produce masters and doctoral studies in order to secure funding, while supervisors face pressures of having to publish to secure promotion and employability. In the process, students are not given enough opportunity for theoretical emancipation