Education lecturers’ perceptions of organising systematic online teaching and learning during COVID-19 pandemic conditions in 2020 at two selected universities in South Africa

Abstract

This article focuses on epistemological access and teaching and learning online during COVID-19 pandemic conditions. A Survey Monkey questionnaire was used with two universities in South Africa who moved their teaching and learning online, to survey whether lecturers think the extent of epistemological access was affected when teaching and learning went online. Our findings indicate lecturers feel that the emergency teaching and learning has compromised their teaching, and while most used existing face-to-face materials online, formats of assessments used were changed. We argue that these, although understandable given pandemic conditions, do not necessarily constitute the kind of carefully designed, paced, and sequenced, and assessed online teaching and learning that also enhances epistemological access. We note if one is to accept that the “new normal” in education is one that will largely be online, then the quality assurance of online teaching and learning will be unavoidable.