Exploring teaching-learning challenges faced by Zimbabwean university pre-service students during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Covid-19 has changed the world order and created a new normal in all facets of life, including formal access to higher education. The closure of universities disconnected students from their everyday on-campus face-to-face teaching and learning practices. The authors explored the challenges Zimbabwean university students faced due to Covid-19 induced lockdown and their implications for education. The qualitative research was based on Obanya’s (1987) Panic Approach in which planning and implementation of new untested innovative approaches and strategies were hurriedly implemented. The data were collected using online focus group discussion conducted via WhatsApp group chat platform. Forty (40) Bachelor in Education pre–service (secondary) students participated in the case study of one university as they discussed their lived learning experiences during the pandemic. The study found that students experienced many learning problems during the period. For instance, lecturers posted reading materials to students, but with very little opportunity for meaningful engagement in critical in-depth discussion and individual attention. Given the emergent phenomenon, the study recommends that the university critically reflects and considers how the teaching and learning intervention strategies and encounters through the online platforms could be enhanced to benefit students. In order to make the most of online teaching- learning opportunities, the study further recommends that the university engages in robust capacity building of both lecturers and students on online teaching and learning skills.