Decision Making in Shifts to Online Teaching, Analysing Reflective Narratives from Staff Working in African Higher Educational Institutions
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Date
2023
Authors
Coughlan, Tim
Goshtasbpour, Fereshte
Mwoma, Teresa
Makoe, Mpine
Aubrey-Smith, Fiona
Tanglang, Nebath
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Many higher education institutions moved from in-person to online teaching during the
COVID-19 pandemic, but these shifts have a longer history and potential. They require challenging
individual and collective decision making by staff, beyond their usual repertoire of practice. This
paper, therefore, aims to understand the nature of decisions that staff made as they moved to online
teaching, the reasons, processes, and reflections on the perceived impacts. Eighty-four participants
with diverse roles connected to moving online from four institutions across Africa were purposively
sampled. Using a constructivist paradigm and qualitative approach, participants were invited to
describe decision-making experiences through short narratives with prompts around their context,
decisions, and impacts. Twenty-two of these participants attended a workshop to augment the
narrative data and identify good practices. Qualitative analysis directed by Activity Theory concepts
revealed that decisions related to policy and rules, pedagogy, community, and technology were
frequently cited by participants. The main objective expressed in these narratives was maintaining the
continuity of education for students. However, mixed impacts were observed on student engagement,
and further decisions were made in response to this. Common challenges related to tools and
technology, and similarly, the biggest tension for implementing the decisions was found between
tools and technology and the participants or their communities. Good practices include updating
policies and introducing continuous assessment. Implications for reflective professional practice are
discussed, including how previous practices are initially drawn on to try to reproduce in-person
teaching online but then adapt in recognition of the tensions this raises.
Description
Article
Keywords
online learning, blended learning, decision making, activity theory, reflection, institutional change
Citation
Coughlan, T., Goshtasbpour, F., Mwoma, T., Makoe, M., Aubrey-Smith, F., & Tanglang, N. (2023). Decision Making in Shifts to Online Teaching: Analysing Reflective Narratives from Staff Working in African Higher Educational Institutions. Trends in Higher Education, 2(1), 123-139.