Who Moved My Old Cheese? Implications of COVID-19 to Teaching and Learning in Southern Africa

Autor/inn/en	Pitikoe, Selloane; Ferreira-Meyers, Karen; Bhebhe, Sithulisiwe; Dlamini-Zwane, Nompumelelo
Titel	Who Moved My Old Cheese? Implications of COVID-19 to Teaching and Learning in Southern Africa
Quelle	In: Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, 10 (2021), S.64-79 (16 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2165-2554
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; COVID-19; Pandemics; School Closing; Online Courses; Program Effectiveness; Educational Policy; Developing Nations; Economic Impact; Distance Education; Rural Areas; At Risk Students; Access to Computers; Elementary Secondary Education; Postsecondary Education; Tuition; Eswatini + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; School closings; Schule; Schließung; Schließung (von Schulen); Online course; Online-Kurs; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Developing country; Developing countries; Entwicklungsland; Ökonomische Determinanten; Distance study; Distance learning; Fernunterricht; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Post-secondary education; Tertiäre Bildung; Unterweisung; Unterricht
Abstract	This reflective essay seeks to share the authors' thoughts and feelings on the impact of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the general teaching and learning strategies, theories, and practices in the small kingdom of Eswatini in Southern Africa. Coming from varying backgrounds in education allows the authors to tackle the overview of consequences from different points of view and angles. The common thread amongst the authors is an observation that the disruptive nature of the pandemic, with its sudden onslaught and the need to react fast, might lead to long-lasting transformations in the area of teaching and learning. Emphasis in this essay is on whether online teaching and learning happened previous to the start of the pandemic and to determine its effectiveness in terms of access and self-directedness of the learners. Given the devastating impacts of COVID-19, governments had to develop 'instant' provisions, such as digital/e-learning platforms in the formal education sector, in a bid to minimize new infections through social distancing while also supporting learning outside the classroom. The question that remains unanswered, though, is the appropriateness and effectiveness of the digital platforms in the context of a developing country with existing socio-economic and infrastructural underlying problems; hence the rationale for this paper. In conclusion, a few recommendations will be proposed in view of improving the immediate, short-term teaching and learning strategies that can later be reflected upon once the pandemic subsides. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Indiana University. 107 South Indiana Avenue, Bryan Hall 203B, Bloomington, IN 47405. Tel: 317-274-5647; Fax: 317-278-2360; e-mail: josotl@iu.edu; Web site: https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/jotlt
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01