Work

Online teaching in response to student protests and campus shutdowns: academics’ perspectives

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: During the period 2015–2017, student protests and university shutdowns rocked the higher education sector in South Africa, with key issues being raised regarding student exclusion based on financial, epistemological and cultural grounds. In this highly politicised and contested environment, some universities decided to use blended and online delivery as a strategy to enable the academic year to be completed and all curriculum to be covered, despite the disruptions. This was a controversial decision politically and a challenging one practically. From the perspective of the academics at the University of Cape Town (UCT), this paper draws on interviews with educators in three broad disciplinary areas to explore their views, practices, and experiences regarding the use of online materials in these unique circumstances. Activity Theory provides a framework to consider the issues systemically and to identify the tensions and contradictions in the system.

Source: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

DOI: 10.1186/s41239-019-0170-1

Authors: Laura Czerniewicz, Henry Trotter, Genevieve Haupt

Institution: University of Cape Town

Language: English

Topic: Online and Blended Learning

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Carnegie Corporation of New York