A mixed-methods study on the impacts of online learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic on the envisioned emancipatory Social Work Education at a South African University.

Zibane, Sibonsile Zerurcia.Mfishi, Zwelisha.2025-06-202025-06-2020242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/23763Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The adoption of online learning methods by institutions accustomed to face-to-face teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was widely debated. It impacts on professions such as social work which are aimed at emancipatory education and are rooted in critical paradigms, remained unknown. This study examined how online learning impacted the envisioned emancipatory social work education at a South African university. Grounded in emancipatory pedagogy theory and framed within critical and post-positivist paradigms, the study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Data were collected in two phases: a quantitative phase with N=213 participants selected through simple random sampling, and a qualitative phase with 15 participants selected through purposive sampling. Data collection included self-administered questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), for univariate, descriptive, bivariate, multivariate, and mediation analyses, while qualitative data were analysed through critical discourse analysis. Findings were integrated through narrative synthesis and joint display tables. Univariate analysis showed an average age of 20.8 years, with 73.2% female participants. Participants had varying Online Learning (OL) experience: 36.2% (one year), 31.9% (two years), and 31.9% (three years). Descriptive analysis indicated 76.66% incorporation of Epistemological Dialogues (ED) in OL. A significant positive correlation existed between OL and ED (p < .011), but not with Transformative Critical Consciousness (TCC) (p = .316) or Transformative Critical Action (TCA) (p = .054). ED correlated positively with TCC (r = .266, p < .001) and TCA (r = .332, p < .001). Regression analysis showed ED explained 7.1% variance in TCC (R² = .071) and 11.6% in TCA (R² = .116). ED’s mediating effect on TCC (-0.0902) and TCA (-0.1582) was indirect and negative. Challenges included lecturer-centred pedagogies, language barriers, passive learning, power dynamics, and the digital divide, impacting ED quality. Although some students developed TCC, they struggled to translate it into TCA, limiting the realisation of praxis. While OL presented opportunities, it hindered full realisation of emancipatory social work education. Therefore, there is a need for fundamental rethinking of education during crises in social work. In the South Africa, such rethinking should also address historical disadvantages.enOnline learning (OL)Emancipatory Social Work EducationTransformative Critical Consciousness (TCC)Transformative Critical Action (TCA)Epistemological Dialogues (ED)A mixed-methods study on the impacts of online learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic on the envisioned emancipatory Social Work Education at a South African University.Thesis