Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown globally, led to the sudden closure of Higher Education Institutions (HEI), catapulting them into preparing for an alternative mode of delivery, to replace the traditional face-to-face mode. Administrators, academic staff as well as students needed to adjust to this sudden and abrupt shift to emergency remote teaching and eLearning. To be able to use often new, and unfamiliar, information communication technologies (ICT) effectively, requires a variety of competencies over and above the basic technological ‘know-how’ of common ICT tools. Many academics and students were not as aux fait with the communication technologies required for remote teaching and learning. Equitable access to digital technologies also posed a problem. Over the last decade household Internet access has risen in the countries considered (South Africa, Hungary, Wales), however, a small percentage of households still do not have access to mobile devices or the Internet. To consider what impact the changed educational practices had on academics, this qualitative research study conducted semi-structured interviews with thirty academic staff members, ten from each participating country. A cross section of staff members was interviewed, from new academics to seasoned and more senior academic staff members.

A framework of “themes” guided these interviews, namely
(1) Initial reactions,
(2) Workload,
(3) Wellbeing and isolation,
(4) Preparedness, transition, and pedagogy,
(5) Relationships and collaboration,
(6) Confidence in technology use,
(7) Cybersecurity, and
(8) Assessment.

This qualitative research study used Framework Analysis—a method of thematic analysis—together with NVIVO as a tool to analyse the data. Initial outcomes of the research suggest that extant factors contribute to how academic staff experienced the switch to the online emergency remote learning and working. Depending on the home working and living environment, whether staff were new to teaching or experienced, whether staff were involved with additional administration roles or not, or whether staff were exposed to eLearning before, all had an influence on how this transition to online teaching and learning was experienced.

Keywords:

COVID-19, Emergency e-learning, Remote Working, Academic Staff, Higher Education.