Teachers’ experiences navigating changes in teaching during the coronavirus pandemic in a public school in KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic revealed the need for change in the global environment, including the education sector, where teachers, as frontline workers, were expected to continue teaching despite pandemic risks. Teaching underwent a paradigm shift from traditional classroom teaching to online teaching and later to rotational teaching. This study was underpinned by the interpretivist paradigm, which explored the subjective experiences of teachers. The methodological design for this study was based on the qualitat ive approach to address the research problem. The techniques and methodology employed in this study to generate data to answer the research questions included the obtaining of in-depth data through semi-structured interviews and a single focus group discussion. An exploratory case study was conducted at Aspire High, a public school in KZN. This qualitative study used Kurt Lewin’s 3-step Theory of Change model of unfreeze, change, and refreeze stages as its theoretical framework to explore the experiences of 10 purposefully selected Grade 10 teachers from a public school in KwaZulu-Natal as they navigated changes in technology, pedagogy, and the social aspects of their teaching during the pandemic. The study established the lack of technology resources in South Africa, with teachers overwhelmed by technological, pedagogical, and social challenges. Technological barriers, new teaching strategies, increased workloads, and social isolation, led to teachers’ stress, anxiety, and burnout. Teachers required more emotional and psychological support. However, the pandemic enabled teachers’ professional development, technological development, and new educational strategies for advancing education in the post-pandemic era. A thematic analysis of the data from in-depth interviews and a single focus group revealed three major themes and fourteen sub-themes on teachers’ struggles during the pandemic. These include the challenges associated with the following: technological barriers, administrative and institutional support, the development of new materials, learner performance and engagement, and emotional and social effects. The research recommends enhancing technological support and training, promoting pedagogical innovation, and adapting institutional policies and support structures for a more equitable education system that would be more resilient to future crises.