The Pandemic and Social Science Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Preface

It gives me immense pleasure to write this short preface to this book.

Birthed in the context of pedagogical and philosophical changes by social science academics working in pandemic conditions, it has been a longer than anticipated road to publication. Aside from normal publication challenges, the pandemic itself took its added toil on our authors who battled their own personal and work challenges to help bring this work to fruition. The result is a small but innovative anthology of pedagogical approaches to social science teaching under pandemic conditions. The individual works are a testament to academics and their commitment to their students and detail some of the challenges faced in the context of social science disciplines.

As Dean of the School of Social Sciences, I also have immense pride knowing that this book and publication is also in partnership with Langaa Publishers, a publishing house with a history of bringing African scholarship and the work of African scholars to the fore.

Vivian Ojong

Dean and Head of School of Social Sciences

University of KwaZulu-Natal

South Africa

Introduction

The Pandemic and Social Science Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Maheshvari Naidu and Subashini Govender

University of KwaZulu-Natal

The global Coronavirus pandemic created seismic ruptures in what was before many routinised aspects of our daily lives and no less so in our work lives as academics, researchers and teachers. The world came to terms with what everyone was referring to as ‘the so called new normal’ [sic]. Even as that term was becoming sickeningly common and the word ‘pandemic’ became commonplace on everyone’s lips (in the same way that the word ‘tsunami’ entered commonplace jargon in 2001), academics were obliged to confront how to engage with their students and how to have the students engage with their research.

The pandemic, thus, resulted in unprecedented and massive shifts in the social structuring of both work and personal lives. As countries around the globe initiated ‘lockdown’ procedures, to ‘flatten the curve’ and limit the transmission of the virus, governments, organisations, companies, institutions and the populace at large had to scramble to attempt to transform their lives within days (see Mahaye 2020; Mzileni 2020). Southern African institutions of higher education were of course not exempt from this change. To conform to government-led Covid-19 protocol, universities were compelled to completely shut down until further notice, students were hurried off from their residential accommodation at university to their hometowns and staff and students were asked to stay and work from home (Hendricks and Chirume 2020; SANews 2020).

The lockdown measures necessitated teaching and learning moving from the traditional face-to-face teaching approaches to online-based teaching, learning and engagement within a short period (Mahaye 2020 Mzileni 2000; Dipa 2020). The pandemic period presented exceptional challenges to all; both on personal levels as well as academic levels, as we moved to online and virtual platforms (Iwu 2022). Not only did teachers have to contend with navigating their students through a rapid transformation to online learning, but had to do so within the political asymmetries of a highly unequal society where teachers had to re-think teaching and learning while considering the deeply entrenched social inequalities faced by student populations (Mzileni 2020; Dipa 2020; Soudien 2020).

It was within this geo-political climate and context within which was embedded the further cosmological rupturing (al la Weick) where the world came to be segmented into ‘pre-pandemic’ or ‘pre-covid’ and ‘post-pandemic’ and ‘post-covid. Resignation and resilience appeared to sit cheek to jowl in the context of what universities and academics had to do in tandem with the seemingly impossibility of what needed to be done. In many ways, arguably, resilience triumphed in many quarters. Resilience became not just a buzzword but took on mantra-like proportions. Resilience was also the adopted stance of institutions of higher learning which attempted to pivot and become agile in the manner in which teaching could be delivered and learning could be facilitated.

However, as universities strategised around the challenging enormity and the logistics of bringing online teaching to and into the homes of all students through the distribution of laptops and data (Cape Argus 2020; Universities South Africa 2020), the teaching staff were confronted with the pragmatics of negotiating the pedagogy of online teaching during crisis times. For academics at university, this move also underpinned other kinds of deeper epistemological shifts as they were compelled to rethink curriculum, assessment as well as their underlying teaching philosophies (see Govender and Rajkoomar 2021). This signified the dawn of a new era of pedagogical practices as new teaching approaches began to be utilised to create ‘on-line communities of learning’ on a previouly unprecedented scale. (Ravitch 2020). Since universities are (among other things) knowledge-producing institutions, the Covid-19 pandemic brought into question and up to the gaze how research could be conducted under the conditions of social distancing or (compelled) distance education.

Hedding et al. (2020:1) state that ‘experiences of students and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be generalized’. Social science students and teachers/academics in the social sciences also experienced problems unique to their life situations and discipline (Iwu et al. 2022; Makwembere 2021). Social science teaching practices (pedagogy), in most Southern African universities traditionally focused on face-to-face lectures and tutorials, with supplementary course materials being posted on online platforms such as Moodle (in the context of the University of KwaZulu-Natal – UKZN). The social sciences at UKZN had thus engaged in blended learning prior to the Covid-19 pandemic (Khan et al. 2021; Iwu 2022). Blended learning was, thus, not a foreign concept to disciplines within the social sciences.

That said, as universities moved to general shutdown, teaching approaches shifted completely to online platforms. As mentioned, this move also symbolised attention to students’ vulnerabilities and disadvantages, which some scholars argued had hitherto received less attention than they deserved (see Mahaye 2020; Mzileni 2020). Such ‘disadvantages’, according to these scholars, included ‘limited internet access, poor internet speed, and the high cost of internet’ (Keržič et al. 2021: 5) as well as the realities of difficult living conditions, such as overcrowded homes, or homes that lacked basic amenities such as electricity or running water (Keržič et al. 2021). The challenge for social science and academics in social science was to navigate to online teaching while also addressing the broader social inequalities faced by their students.

This book responds to the undeniable shift and turning point in social science education and, as Soudien puts it, where students’ identity and background impacts the learning process (Soudien 2020). This book is a modest attempt to engage with the responses from social science academics as they take into consideration the students’ home environment and vulnerabilities. The book highlights their humanistic approach as they work with an understanding of the past traumas faced by students in conjunction with trauma related to Covid-19, and as they worked through an understanding of the local socio-cultural context in which students are embedded in, all of which impacts the learning process (Black et al. 2020). The chapters in this book showcase a humanistic and pragmatic pedagogy of response where pedagogy needed to transform to meet the needs of students. Such transformation included the ‘co-creation of supporting learning environments’ and introducing ‘care’ into pedagogy practices (Ravitch 2020; Bali 2020). Secondly, transforming to a more student-orientated teaching style opened new possibilities in curriculum development as the focus shifted from teacher-centred ‘rote learning’ methods to student-centred perspectives focusing on students’ lived experiences, encouraging critical thinking and problem solving in their own social context (Govender and Rajkoomar 2021).

Thirdly, as pedagogy and curriculum transformed, so too did modes of assessments have to be rethought in line with new teaching practices (Allias and Marock 2020; Govender and Rajkoomar 2021). Social science assessments are predominately essay-based. During Covid-19, this posed a challenge to students and teachers alike. For instance, to write an essay, students need to engage in online and library research, read several texts on the topic and formulate ideas and an argument based on what they have read. This takes much time and effort. Since library facilities were indefinitely closed, students would have had to rely on online sources. However, this poses a problem for students living in areas in which electricity and internet services are weak and those who are unable to afford internet services (Hedding et al. 2020: 1). This opened new avenues for social sciences to rethink formative and summative assessments (Motala and Menon 2020). It provided an opportunity for social sciences lecturers to engage in creative assessment activities and tools that stimulate creative and critical thinking, while simultaneously being student centred (McInerney 2022).

Lastly, the research component of social sciences is also undergoing transformation. Traditionally, social science research focuses on face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews, survey questionnaires and methods of observation. These research methods involve contact with people, which was not possible during the Covid-19 pandemic (Hedding et al. 2020: 2). Since social science research is based on understanding the relationship between the individual/community/institution and wider society, it is important that this research continues during the pandemic in non-traditional but meaningful and scientifically valuable ways. This challenge opened new possibilities on how to engage with social science research without endangering the lives of both researcher and participants. It provided possibilities to creatively engage with new research methods and instruments for sourcing data and using technologies involved in engaging with participants, and opened up possibilities of doing research creatively.

These shifts in social science higher education pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and research mark a profound transformation from the traditional methods of teaching, learning and doing research to one that moved to actively engaging with southern African student needs, while creating innovative teaching and research methodologies embedded in local social contexts and knowledge. The book’s purpose is to convey the challenges that Covid-19 presented to social science higher education as well as the numerous pedagogies that have emerged out of these challenges. This marks a turning point in social science education, which will have profound implications on the future spectrum of social science disciplines. Since this transformation is in a state of flux, it is imperative to capture these changes and new teaching techniques and practices in response to the Covid-19 pandemic that will undoubtedly continue to have long-term repercussions well after the pandemic has passed.

The book is located within the theme of teaching, learning and research in higher educational institutions in Southern Africa. Mgutshini et al. (2021) state that arguably fewer books are written, within a Southern African context, that examine the impact of Covid-19 on higher education institutions and how social science disciplines and teachers have contended with the impact of Covid-19. The book offers input through a social science prismatic lens as it combines broader factors such as the economic, political and socio-cultural aspects that impinge on students together with the everyday micro experiences that teachers and students go through as they adapt to using online learning platforms. Thus, the challenges of teaching during crisis are exposed in the chapters as well as the pedagogic shifts, utilised by the authors, captured. This pedagogic transformation includes the move to a more humanistic approach comprising aspects of care and a deeper understanding of the psycho-social issues students are faced with and attempting to co-create supportive learning environments (Ravitch 2020; Bali 2020), while using virtual technologies. According to Walwyn, the adjustment to online and virtual teaching modalities and blended learning approaches sees the promotion of ‘open learning’ (learning based on independent study instead of traditional classroom instruction) and ‘open education’ (increase in accessibility to online learning and training) (see Walwyn 2020:2). In addition, there is also a move towards and an opportunity for social justice educational outcomes. Arguably, institutions erected along business model designs have abandoned such values for an instrumental approach to higher education where graduates are educated with the unilineal dimensionality of contributing to the economy. Instead, a social justice approach advocates fair relationship between individual and society in which there is ‘an equality in the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges’ (Walwyn 2020:2). These pedagogical shifts indicate a defining and historical moment in social science education that undoubtedly needs to be captured.

The current pandemic uniquely positions our contribution such that it captures the historical pedagogical shifts in social science in an unprecedented time. The book’s main contribution is how teaching, learning and research are being conducted amongst social science academics and researchers in a global crisis. It offers insights on how social science academics are working under strenuous conditions to provide education to students by using online and virtual platforms to disseminate curricula, conduct assessments and to teach meaningfully. It also provides unique insights into the shift in pedagogy, curriculum development, assessments and research and the challenges and opportunities that come with these shifts.

Although there has been an increase in scholarship illustrative of the experiences of academics and the changes in teaching as a result of the Covid-19, much of this work, outlines experiences from the North (Murphy 2000; Morgan 2000), Europe (Willamson, Eynon and Potter 2000; Karalis and Raikou 2000) and Asia (Baloran 2000; Moorhouse 2000; Talidong and Toquero 2000). Thus, the experiences, situations and knowledge presented by African and South African academics are elided in the discourse and, in addition, much of the work published is in the fields of education and science. This offers an opportunity for local and global academics to understand the experiences of a South African university, specifically academics teaching the social sciences, and to learn from, implement and improve on pedagogies undertaken during a time of crisis.

This book specifically focuses on academics in the social science disciplines within a South African higher education institutional context during and following the Covid-19 pandemic, and foregrounds new structural changes, student–teacher pedagogies and creative intellectual engagements.

References

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