From face-to-face to remote teaching during COVID-19: Lecturers at private colleges in Johannesburg

Abstract

Background: South African higher education institutions shifted from traditional to remote teaching and learning because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) national lockdown. Despite extensive research on remote teaching and learning in public universities, there is a noticeable gap in investigating how private higher education colleges, particularly their lecturers, navigated the transition to remote teaching.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate lecturers’ experiences of remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown in private higher education colleges in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Methods: This qualitative study is based on an MA dissertation, but focuses specifically on data from semi-structured interviews with 10 lecturers employed at various private higher education colleges in Johannesburg. Thematic content analysis method was used to analyse data and present findings.

Results: The findings revealed several challenges faced by lecturers in transitioning and adapting to remote teaching. These challenges included unreliable internet connectivity, difficulty in monitoring student engagement during online sessions, teaching practical modules remotely, and the absence of conducive work environments during the national lockdown and work-from-home arrangements.

Conclusion: Lecturers at private higher education colleges faced significant challenges in adapting to remote teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown. These challenges highlight the need for better institutional support, targeted training in digital pedagogy, and improved infrastructure to enable more effective remote teaching.

Contribution: This study contributes to literature on remote teaching in private higher education institutions and highlights how remote teaching deepened lecturer–student distance, demonstrating the relevance of transactional distance theory (TDT).