Inclusive Data Literacy: Lessons from a Data Literacy course in Cape Town, South Africa

How do you teach data and digital skills in a context where many young people lack reliable internet, adequate devices, or prior computer experience? This question is central to a recent case study at a university in Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on a course designed to equip first-year university students with essential digital and data competences, such as using a mouse, navigating files, collecting and presenting information. Through interviews with the teaching team and national experts in data education, we explored how data literacy is conceptualised, which challenges educators encounter, and which strategies work best in contexts shaped by digital inequalities.