Community-driven projects : reflections on a success story. A case study of science education and information technology in South Africa

This book is a remarkable tale of an African community empowering itself with education and ICT. The Siyabuswa Educational Improvement and Development Trust (SEIDET), the product of a local initiative in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, was initially conceived to remedy the shortcomings of science education at the local schools, but grew into a vibrant effort which continues to provide teenagers and adults with vital skills for participating in the modern economy.
While the first part of the book tells the story of the people, mostly volunteers, the second and third parts provide academic analyses of the reasons for SEIDET’s success, drawing and expanding on theories such as Innovation Theory, Learning Selection and Activity Theory.
This book will be a good read for academics interested in the theories exemplified, and for governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with the upliftment and empowerment of rural or hitherto disadvantaged communities. SEIDET was not a project through which well-meaning outsiders sought to achieve induced development; rather, it was the local community that felt the need for education and initiated and embraced ICT and other training. This is the secret behind its success.