Abstract
The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in immense shifts in several sectors of society, including education. Social distancing was recommended as one of the measures to reduce the transmission of the Coronavirus, which resulted in many countries introducing lockdowns and the closure of schools. This chapter reports on the challenges experienced and transnational ‘learning through crisis' by two teacher educators based in South Africa and San Francisco (USA). A qualitative methodological approach was used to highlight two case studies of how teaching strategies and curriculum delivery to postgraduate students were redesigned. Findings from critical reflections and personal narrative accounts highlighted the tensions or challenges of social inequalities and lack of resources, technological and emotional challenges, school closures, and isolation. Curriculum innovation and redesign and mapping as a pedagogical tool were captured as opportunities. Teachers ‘learning through crisis' involved engaging in culturally relevant pedagogy and living the curriculum.
TopBackground
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Higher Education Institutions
In March 2020, there was global concern about reports of the rapid spread of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19), which was declared a pandemic by the Director-General of the WHO (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020). Social distancing was recommended as one of the measures to reduce the transmission of the Coronavirus, which resulted in many countries introducing strict lockdowns and the closure of schools. UNESCO (2020) estimates that school closures in mid-April 2020 affected 1.3 billion students in 195 countries. Therefore, lecturers were thrust into uncertain terrain and forced to shift their teaching from traditional approaches to online approaches and remote teaching. The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic also heightened the importance of lecturers’ emotional well-being as they navigated the slippery slope toward online teaching and revising curriculum delivery.
Lecturers work alongside classroom teachers who are in the midst of all the turmoil and challenges associated with a world in crisis: COVID-19, war, climate devastation, structural racism, among others. Therefore, lecturers experience the impacts of these crises on their educational systems while trying to provide mentorship and guidance for a new generation of teachers. Perhaps, now more than ever, teachers are vital in any hope for a sustainable, peaceful future. Green and Collett (2018) highlight that professional learning communities offer a supportive environment that contributes to the personal and professional growth of teachers. Therefore, if lecturers are to provide educational spaces and support for classroom teachers, they must expand communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), reach beyond traditional approaches to teacher education, and embrace the tensions in the world around us. Globalization and policy imperatives of Higher Education Institutions emphasise the internationalisation of the curriculum and global citizenship (Jooste & Hagenmeier, 2022; Guimarães & Finardi, 2021), and the emerging trend of telecollaboration and online learning (O’Dowd, 2016). Lecturers and teachers need to be ongoing learners and create spaces for teaching and learning in order for meaningful, relevant teaching to take place (Kumashiro, 2015). Transnational research and telecollaboration as scholars must be a part of this future in education.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social Inequality: Unequal distribution of and access to resources in society brought as a result of differences in race, power, gender, religion, class, and sexual orientation.
Transnational Learning: Learning provided by higher education institutions or programmes to students in another country.
Living the Curriculum: Teachers reflect on and refine their teaching and design meaningful learning activities to transform the curriculum so that it is relevant to lived experiences and social realities of their students.
Telecollaboration: Individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds engage in intercultural dialogue through virtual exchange or online technologies.
Culturally: Relevant Pedagogy: Teachers draw on the cultural knowledge and lived experiences of their students to adjust their teaching so that it is relevant to their racial and cultural contexts.
Online Teaching: Teachers using online platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google docs to facilitate learning activities and discussions.
Learning Through Crisis: During crisis situations, teachers examine their teaching and learning choices critically and develop learning materials that address social inequities and anti-oppression and promote transformation and social justice.