HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGY IN CRISIS: CHALLENGES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING DURING THE
COVID-19 ERA IN ZIMBABWE

HIGHER EDUCATION PEDAGOGY IN CRISIS: CHALLENGES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING DURING THE
COVID-19 ERA IN ZIMBABWE

PAUL MUPA

Covid-19 placed higher education pedagogy in a crisis, particularly in Zimbabwe.
This study explores the pedagogical challenges that have been caused by the Covid-
19 pandemic in the Zimbabwean higher education system. The study employed the
qualitative paradigm and a case study design with three universities in Masvingo
province. Seven lecturers and ten students from three universities were purposefully
sampled because of their richness in data. Electronic interviews were used to
generate data. The major findings from this study were that lecturers faced challenges
in employing interactive teaching methods. For example, lecturers in the natural
sciences found it difficult to conduct experiments online. Students faced challenges in
engaging in group presentations. It was also established that lecturers were
sometimes not available online for consultation and this limited interaction between
students and lecturers. The study concluded that there were serious pedagogical
challenges that had been brought by the Covid-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe. The study
recommends that a robust professional development programme on ICT based
teaching be developed for lecturers to improve the quality of teaching in the Covid-19
era. Zimbabwean universities should build their own capacities to facilitate and
support student learning.

Journal of New Vision in Educational Research

2020