Psychosocial Implications, Students Integration/Attrition, and Online Teaching and Learning in South Africa’s Higher Education Institutions in the Context of COVID-19

Monica Njanjokuma Otu, Stanley Osezua Ehiane (), Hlabathi Maapola-Thobejane and Mosud Yinusa Olumoye
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Monica Njanjokuma Otu: Department of Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, University of KwaZuLu-Natal, Howard College Campus, Durban 4000, South Africa
Stanley Osezua Ehiane: Department of Politics and Administrative Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Botswana, Gaborone 00704, Botswana
Hlabathi Maapola-Thobejane: Department of Inclusive Education, College of Education, University of South Africa, Sunnyside Campus, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
Mosud Yinusa Olumoye: Department of Information System and Cybersecurity, Collage of Pure and Applied Sciences, Caleb University, Lagos 106102, Nigeria

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: This article explores the psychosocial impact of online teaching and learning on students, following the decision by South African universities to move teaching and learning from physical contact platforms to cyberspace interactions. South Africa’s intervention, like many other countries, adopted the necessary measures that would prevent the spread of the virus among its population, particularly educational institutions. One such measure was the decision to shut down institutions in South Africa and the contingent measure to operationalise teaching and learning using cyberspace. The unprecedented move to online teaching engendered levels of anxiety and fear, and presented a highly disruptive and traumatic experience for many students, especially those from impoverished and rural backgrounds. While focusing on student psychosocial vulnerabilities during this pandemic, the article also presents background factors such as social and economic factors that constrain student success in South Africa’s higher education institutions (HEIs), and which became exacerbated during the pandemic. It further explores the behavioural significance of online teaching and learning’s impact on the physical and psychological energy that students devote to their academic work. The study is underpinned by psychosocial and student-integration theories, and it weaves the argument articulated by leaning heavily on the secondary data. Lastly, by way of recommendation, the study highlights the unique challenges that the COVID-19 disaster posed for South African students in HEIs and emphasises the need to give symbolic attention to these unique challenges. The study, therefore, is proposing improvement in preparedness and the mitigation of societal disruption in South African society and higher education during future pandemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; remote teaching; psychosocial theory; social integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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