The experiences of teacher educators managing teaching and learning during times of crises at one initial teacher education provider in South Africa

Abstract

As a response to the exponential increase in COVID-19 cases, the South African government implemented the closure of schools and many universities in March 2020, with some universities operating under partial lockdown conditions. In this context of closure and lockdown, many universities have shifted to forms of virtual and online learning. Teacher education programmes were no exception, with many teacher educators having to transform their teaching under COVID restrictions to prepare future teachers. This article presents a snapshot of how teacher educators responded to the COVID-19 crisis between 2020 and 2021, and the implications of what has been deemed “emergency remote modes” of teaching for the future of higher education pedagogy. We look specifically at the effect of COVID-19 on teacher educators’ sense of self and wellbeing at one institution in South Africa. These teacher educators teach on the Bachelor of Education Foundation Phase programme. We examine the way in which teacher educators in a university setting supported the learning needs of student teachers as they develop their skills and pedagogic approaches. This qualitative study included interviews with eight purposively sampled foundation phase teacher educators. Several themes emerged from the semi structured interviews. These include the implications of the pandemic on teacher educator pedagogy, the effects on teacher educator wellbeing, and the institutional context of education, including support mechanisms. Teacher educators highlighted possible solutions for the future and how institutions could best adapt its primary objective of teaching and learning during times of crises and disruptions.