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Education Studies

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    Exploring academics’ experiences of emergency remote teaching: a case study from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
    (2022) Mbatha, Duduzile Amanda.; Hlatshwayo, Mlamuli Nkosingphile.
    In light of the social-distancing and non-medical preventative measures placed on South African citizens to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many higher education institutions were compelled to shift from their traditional pedagogy (Kehrwald & McCallum, 2015). This resulted from the sudden closures of these institutions, which presented academics an opportunity to shift from the traditional pedagogy to a new student-centred mode of instruction, namely; emergency remote teaching (ERT) (Motala & Menon, 2020). This temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate mode due to circumstances (Hodges et al., 2020) was meant to ensure that the academic year was not lost. However, academics found themselves confronted with the challenges of transforming their traditional methods of teaching face-to-face, to incorporate online pedagogies, while also dealing with fear of the unknown, technological stressors, and the inherent trauma of the pandemic. In this study, I explored the academics’ experiences of ERT using an interpretivist qualitative approach, with phenomenology as a theoretical lens. I explored and theorised the complex and rich experiences of academics in their implementation of ERT. Seven participants were purposively selected, and semi-structured interviews conducted with them. The findings reveal that the sudden start of ERT presented time constraints on academics, which in turn, limited their preparedness and ability to produce quality online programmes. Moreover, the academics could not timeously put measures in place to control the increase in plagiarism. Academics longed for contact classes because of the lack of contact with students which allowed for the adoption of the ethics of care. The importance of technological support, the ability to adapt to change, and the need for adopting a care approach during such unprecedented times, was paramount. This study sought to uncover the importance of technical support and its benefits, and how institutions could improve the support provided. The study recommends that systems and policies be put in place to prevent the negative impact of plagiarism due to assessment methods used. It also recommends that academics experiences and insights of the emergency remote teaching be recognised, and that they be given platforms to effect change, where necessary.