Unconventional times in Higher Education: Lived experiences of South African student support champions during the Covid-19 pandemic

Keywords: Higher Education, Student support, Resilience, Beyond the curriculum

Abstract

The COVID‒19 pandemic necessitated swift changes to remote teaching and learning. This study explored the experiences of student support champions comprising teaching assistants, tutors, mentors, and retention officers) in providing affective and content support via remote modalities to first‒year students. The study focused on insights gained during remote learning. This adaptation to change speaks to resilience thinking, ‘being able to withstand or overcome adversity and unpleasant events and successfully adapt to change and uncertainty’. Learning to be resilient and adaptable to rise above challenges, is simultaneously transformative to create new ways of thinking to deal with current situations. This study resides within the interpretivist paradigm and draws on the subjective experiences and understandings of research participants within a university of technology. Surveys were conducted to garner insights and experiences and were analysed according to emergent themes of challenges, improvements, and future practices. Data revealed that despite the demands placed on student support champions, they managed to cope with their studies and acquired attributes, dispositions, and values beyond the formal curriculum. Thus the study shows that times of complexity present opportunities for resilience and transformation to changing circumstances.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

D. Scholtz, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Faculty of Business and Management Sciences

S. Williams, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Faculty of Business and Management Sciences

References

Adedoyin, Olasile B. and Emrah Soykan,. 2020. “Covid‒19 pandemic and online learning: the challenges and opportunities.” Interactive Learning Environments 1‒13. DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2020.1813180.

Al‒Riyami, Thuraya. 2015. “Main Approaches to Educational Research.” International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences 2 (5):412‒416.

Baker, Ted and Reed E Nelson. 2005. “Creating Something from Nothing: Resource Construction through Entrepreneurial Bricolage.” Administrative Science Quarterly 50:329‒366.

Bandura, Albert. 2001. “Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective.” Annual Review Psychology 52 (1):1–26.

Bobek, Becky. 2002. “Teacher resiliency: A key to career longevity.” Clearing House 75 (4):202‒205.

Council on Higher Education. 2021. Covid 19 crisis – actions aimed at completing the academic year. Tshwane: CHE.

Chiramba, Otilia. 2021. “Integrating resilience in teaching and learning in South African universities in the covid‒19 era: a scoping review.” African perspectives of research in teaching & learning‒ Aportal 5 Special Issue (1):12‒127. issn 2521‒0262 print

Clarke, Victoria and Virginia Braun. 2017. “Thematic analysis.” The Journal of Positive Psychology 12(3): 297‒298. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613

Eaton, Sarah E. 2020. “Academic Integrity During COVID‒19: Reflections From the University of Calgary.” International Studies in Educational Administration 48 (1):80 ‒85.

Guthrie, Kathy L. and Hllyo McCracken. 2010. “Reflective pedagogy: Making meaning in experiential based online courses.” Journal of Educators Online 7 (2): 1‒21.

Hodges, Charles, Stephanie Moore, Barb Lockee, Torrey Trust and Aaron Bond. 2020. “The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning.” EDUCAUSE Review. 3: 1‒12 https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remoteteaching-and-online-learning

Holdsworth, Sarah, Michelle Turner and Christina M. Scott‒Young. 2018. “… Not drowning, waving. Resilience and university: a student perspective.” Studies in Higher Education. 43 (11):1837–1853. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1284193

Jili, Nokukhanya N, Ede, I. Chuks and Mfundo M. Masuku. 2021. “Emergency Remote Teaching in Higher Education During Covid‒19: Challenges and Opportunities.” International Journal of Higher Education 10 (5):1‒9.

Kiger, Michelle E, and Lara Varpio. 2020. “Thematic analysis of qualitative data.” AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher. DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030

Kivunja, Charles, and Ahmed B. Kuyini. 2017. “Understanding and Applying Research Paradigms in Educational Contexts” International Journal of Higher Education 6 (5): 26‒41 http://ijhe.sciedupress.com/

Matarirano, Obert, Onke Gqokonqana and Abor Yeboah. 2021. “Students’ Responses to Multi‒Modal Emergency Remote Learning During COVID‒19 in a South African Higher Institution.” Research in Social Sciences and Technology 6 (2):199‒218. https://doi.org/10.46303/ressat.2021.19

McCarty, Steve. 2021. “Online Education as a Discipline.” Academia Letters Article 434:1‒6.

https://doi.org/10.20935/AL434.

Mcewen, Kathryn. 2011. Building Resilience at Work. Australian Academic Press. ProQuest Ebook Central. Available on: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cput/detail.action?docID=928380

South African Government. 2022. About Alert System. https://www.gov.za/covid-19/about/about-alert-system. Accessed on 11 July 2022.

Taylor, Janice L. 2013. “The Power of Resilience: A Theoretical Model to Empower, Encourage and Retain Teachers.” The Qualitative Report 18 (70):1‒25. http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR18/taylor70.pdf

Thanh, Nguyen C., and Tran T.L. Thanh. 2015. “The Interconnection Between Interpretivist Paradigm and Qualitative Methods in Education.” American Journal of Educational Science 1 (2): 24‒27.

Waghid, Zayd, Lawrence Meda and Jane A. Chiroma. 2021. “Assessing cognitive, social and teaching presences during emergency remote teaching at a South African university.” International Journal of Information and Learning Technology 38 (5):413‒ 432. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-01-2021-0006.

Published
2025-04-27
How to Cite
Scholtz, D., and S. Williams. 2025. “Unconventional Times in Higher Education: Lived Experiences of South African Student Support Champions During the Covid-19 Pandemic”. South African Journal of Higher Education 39 (1), 284-99. https://doi.org/10.20853/39-1-5777.
Section
General Articles