COVID as a Catalyst for Change

### **Chapter 5**

## Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment Culture of Caribbean Higher Education Institutions

*Stafford Griffith*

#### **Abstract**

The COVID-19 challenges to Caribbean higher education institutions prompted a transition in the teaching-learning environment from the traditional face-to-face mode to online or distance modes. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the need for change in the assessment practices of Caribbean higher education institutions in the wake of changes in the teaching-learning environments due to COVID-19. By calling attention to the international debate on assessment practices in higher education precipitated by the pandemic, this paper makes the case that the time has come for Caribbean higher education institutions to make a clean break from assessment that is heavily memory dependent and information laden to assessment that is more meaningful and fit for the development and certification of students with competencies that are critical for Caribbean development. Authentic assessment, which makes use of assessment tasks that look more like the actual activities and processes in which persons are engaged in the real world, is posited as the way forward for Caribbean higher education institutions. The paper concludes that the Region's higher education institutions must consider how they may collaborate with providers of technology solutions to develop assessment process that are fit for the preparation of students for the future.

**Keywords:** COVID-19, Caribbean, higher education, authentic assessment, technology

#### **1. Introduction**

The Caribbean (which, in this chapter, refers to the Anglo-Caribbean) is well known for its culture of examinations at all levels of the education system. This is part of its heritage as colonies of the British Empire. Standardised testing approaches are paramount in these examinations. Here, the conditions of administration, including the physical examination setting, the directions to examinees, the test materials and

the time factors are the same for all examinees [1]. In higher education institutions, standardised examinations are generally administered in fixed rooms at fixed times. With such a deeply embedded examinations culture, the countries and educational institutions in the Caribbean were severely affected by COVID-19.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020 created what was undoubtedly the largest disruption of education systems in history [2]. In the vast majority of countries it prompted a transition in the teaching-learning environment from the traditional face to face mode to online or distance modes [3–5]. More than 1.6 billion learners in more than 200 countries were affected globally by this change [6].

According to one United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimate, as many as 60% of the global student population has been affected by closure of educational institutions which offered face-to-face delivery of education [7]. Higher education institutions worldwide shut down their campuses, affecting around 99% of the world's higher education student population [8]. Like the rest of the global community, Caribbean countries had to cope with the impact of COVID-19. Higher education institutions in the Region had to make a rapid transition to remote instruction as part of the measures to minimise potential learning loss or "COVID slide" as one researcher characterised it [9].

#### **2. Precipitation of a discourse on the need for change**

Like other educational institutions, higher education institutions had to transform, rapidly, to online delivery of courses [10, 11]. This rapid movement from face-to-face to emergency remote instruction required both faculty and students in higher education institutions to adapt quickly to new technologies. The transformation involved not only their teaching processes but also their assessment processes as they sought to undertake both teaching and assessment online. As Pandya et al. put it:

*Faculty at the front line were exposed to drastic pedagogical transitions wherein the course content, delivery methods, delivery tools and assessment strategies had to be remodelled on an urgent basis so that effective remote learning can be facilitated. Higher education institutions…. experienced galactic pedagogical transitions from Pre-Covid… period to Covid… period. ([12], p. 987)*

In response to the challenges of COVID-19, and the need to make the shift from face-to-face instruction to online instruction, higher education institutions have responded to the need for a different approach to the assessment of their students. A number of new assessment solutions were implemented. These included the replacement of the timed three-hour face-to-face written examinations with online oral examinations, proctored online examinations and open-book examinations [13], or some combination of these.

University faculty have had to rethink, as well, whether the typical pen-and-paper examinations should be permanently replaced with the more innovative approaches to assessment that were introduced in the wake of COVID-19. In fact, the pandemic, precipitated a debate on assessment practices in the higher education sector, including whether the in-person, fixed time, paper-based assessment was the way to continue into the future [14, 15]. It appears that University faculty adapted quickly to both the

*Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109327*

new mode of instruction and assessment and, and according to one writer, faculty who previously fought the introduction of online pedagogy and technology subsequently fought against to teaching in person [9].

As in many other geographical areas, these quick fixes were also utilised in Caribbean higher education institutions. Without doubt, as in other parts of the world, their implementation must have raised the consciousness within higher education sector of the Region about the need to rethink the way students were assessed in a world where technology has become central to the improvement of many facets of education.

The more extensive use of online delivery of courses and programmes in higher education in response to the challenges of COVID-19, creates a heightened awareness of the need to accelerate the pace of much needed reform of instruction and assessment to bring them more in sync with the digital age and the world of artificial intelligence and virtual reality in which students live and for which higher education should be preparing them. The inescapable need for an accelerated pace of assessment reform is properly highlighted by Hughes, the Campus and Secondary School Principal of La Grande Boissière International School of Geneva when he states that few rituals in education were as old-fashioned and out of kilter with the way the world works today as examinations [16].

It is evident that the archaic pen and paper face-to-face assessment process needs to be rapidly reformed. The Working Group of Emerge Education and Jisc specialists put very succinctly the need for this change when they state that:

*Our view is that assessment in 2030 has to be relevant for the context of future decades rather than previous decades. Employers will wish to understand attainment in ways other than the ability to write long essays by hand or perform feats of memory recall. ([17], p. 19)*

These specialists lamented that traditional assessments fall short of what is required in a number of ways, including the assessment of soft skills, and that it is out of kilter with the behaviour-based assessment that are being used, increasingly, by employers. They also noted that these traditional examinations impose constraints on developing creativity and divergent thinking.

#### **3. The need for authentic assessment**

Authentic assessment is important alternative for overcoming the limitations of traditional assessment. It supports a much-needed transformation in the preparation of higher education graduates to satisfy expectations in a 21st century work environment. Griffith [18] points out that, with a few exceptions, the conventional examination essentially provides an assessment of certain relevant knowledge that students are expected to acquire in a particular subject matter and how well they can communicate this in a manner that others can understand. The author noted that many high performing students in the conventional examination often find it difficult to transfer the knowledge they have acquired to the resolution of issues in their realworld environment.

In supporting the need for a sharper focus on authentic assessment in the preparation of graduates, Fergusson et al. [19] point out that:

*Unlike traditional assessment theory and methods, authentic assessment plays a critical role in learning rather than being a process or method for simply measuring the level, stage, or competency gained because of the curriculum, i.e. as a result of learning. Assessment of this type is considered "authentic" because it involves the learner in a process of self-development rather than being imposed from "on high" merely to measure, judge and grade what one has (or has not) already learned. ([19], p. 1192)*

The Working Group of Emerge Education and Jisc specialists [17] to whom attention was called earlier, posited that there are three requirements for a well-designed assessment system for the future: relevance, adaptability and trustworthiness. Trustworthiness was defined as "solid foundations of academic integrity, security, privacy and fairness" while adaptability was defined as effectiveness in "addressing the needs of a growing and diverse student population, a range of providers and any number of geographies" [p20]. The third requirement is particularly important to the future of examinations, that is, relevance which they defined as:

*Enabling universities to go beyond traditional forms of assessment, dictated by practical limitations of analogue exams, and build systems that are relevant to contemporary needs and reflective of the learning process, and make use of innovative assessment methods too impractical to deliver without digital tools. ([17], p. 20)*

Authentic assessment processes that may be enhanced with the use of online digital technologies that have been more widely used for instruction and assessment to cope with the challenges of COVID 19, is an important way of satisfying these three requirements. Properly selected and used, online digital technology with the appropriate security features will assure trustworthiness. Authentic assessment tasks and processes, properly constructed and delivered through appropriate online digital technology, will assure adaptability as well as relevance to the world in which students would live and work, and for which higher education should be preparing them.

The University of the West Indies (UWI), rated as the leading University in the Caribbean [20] for example, through its Board for Undergraduate Studies (BUS) and its Board for Graduate Studies and Research (BGSR) developed and implemented a comprehensive adjustment to its traditional examinations in response to the COVID-19 challenges. The University suspended its face-to-face classes in all UWI Campuses on the basis of safety considerations and government pronouncements. It then undertook a comprehensive movement of course delivery to an online environment in its four landed campuses. Its fifth campus, the Open Campus, was already delivering its courses and programmes online and was able to help the other four campuses in this transition. The University then recommended the adoption of alternative assessment methods to final exams which were submitted online. It recommended the setting of authentic assessment tasks that require the application of higher order thinking skills to demonstrate an understanding of a subject [21].

The UWI was not unique in that regard. In response to COVID-19, other Regional Universities adopted, at least in part, similar assessment strategies focussing on authentic assessment submitted online. This is an important foundation on which the higher education institutions in the Caribbean need to build in fashioning assessment processes for the future.

*Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109327*

#### **4. Sustaining the authentic assessment precipitated by COVID 19**

Authentic assessment focuses on the application of knowledge to real-life situations. It requires the student to perform, or to create or produce something, based on the requirements of a course. These assessment tasks look more like the actual activities and processes in which persons are engaged in the real world. They require students to apply what they know and to demonstrate the competencies needed for success in the real world [18, 22].

COVID-19, has brought to prominence the need to rethink assessment in higher education and to consider more seriously the acceleration of authentic assessment as a primary form of assessment, given its many advantages for the education and certification of students at that level of the education system. An authentic assessment culture will focus students on acquiring and demonstrating competencies that are associated with their employment after the completion of their higher education courses and programmes. It should provide greater motivation to students than the paper and pencil examination which, in too many instances appears contrived, if not irrelevant to the competencies for which students should be trained in their higher education programmes and courses. A culture of authentic assessment will lead to the setting of assessment tasks that challenge students to demonstrate what they can do with what they have learned and not merely to provide heavily information-laden written responses to questions that may not reflect what they can truly do in a work environment after they graduate from their programmes.

A number of findings from a study undertaken by Griffith [23] focussing on the post-secondary Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) are pertinent to higher education institutions. Griffith reported that employers lamented that the courses of study at that level did not prepare students, adequately, with the higher order skills required in the job market. They suggested that students should be required to use higher order skills to create a product, or generate a solution, as a part of their CAPE programme and certification. Employers were of the view that students needed to develop and demonstrate skills that transcend merely the ability to explain: they should be able to apply their knowledge and skills in a work setting. These observations about the programmes offered at the post-secondary level by the Caribbean Examinations Council are worthy of consideration for students of higher education institutions in the Region.

An important objective of assessing students in a higher education course is to determine and report their levels of attainment. The curriculum and the teaching strategies for each course should be geared at allowing students to develop the competencies defined for the course of study. Invariably, these are not limited to cognitive skills. It is expected that student will develop competencies in making use of these skills and in applying them to resolve certain issues and for making useful contributions in various forms of employment.

The typical examination, with its papers to be completed in limited time, is generally not able to assess these competencies. These papers are therefore limited to those competencies that can be assessed in the limited time and in the format which these examinations permit. They are, invariably, unable to utilise the mix of tasks needed to cover, adequately, the total domain to which inferences are to be made from the test scores or grades awarded to students. Under the circumstances, the scores of the students cannot be relied on as valid measures of the extent to which the competencies,

defined for a course, have been accomplished. Therefore, the grades and scores issued to students would have limitations in the inferences that can be made from them about the level of competence students have achieved in the domains defined by the course.

In discussing the importance of alignment between various components of the teaching-learning system, Biggs [24] calls attention, inter alia, to the importance of alignment between course assessment and the intended learning outcomes. Assessment in higher education institutions should be designed in such a way that it measures the outcomes or competencies that students are expected to acquire from taking the course. But, as pointed out in an OECD policy paper that called attention to the limitations of the existing assessment practices at the onset of COVID 19:

*While higher education is expected to cultivate students' deep knowledge and skills, current forms of examinations too often measure students' mere capacity to recall memorised course content rather than their ability to apply this knowledge and solve real problems. The misalignment between a course examination and intended learning outcomes impairs the capacity of the examination to certify students' acquisition of these learning outcomes…. If students in higher education are expected to become creative problem-solvers and critical thinkers, then examinations need to measure the actual acquisition of these skills. ([13], p. 10)*

The conventional examinations of higher education institutions have certain inherent limitations in achieving the outcomes that are suggested. Fergusson [19] points to two important dimensions of authentic assessment that overcome these limitations. The first is realism which, as the author explains, has to do with the assessment of a situation or a problem that relates to, and is contextualised for, the real world. The second is cognitive challenge that involves the development of higher order cognitive and metacognitive skills through problem solving and the application of knowledge to decision-making.

The programmes and courses of higher education institutions invariably indicate that these are important skills that students are expected to acquire. However, actual assessment often falls short of a focus on these skills that students are expected to develop and demonstrate. The user of the assessment results of students often infers that the test scores or grades are good indicators of the level of attainment of the student in the domain of the programmes and course for which the examination was taken. They therefore treat the examination results as an indication of what students could do if employed in the area in which they have been certified. The validity of such inference is questionable if the examinations from which the scores or grades are derived fail to assess certain expected outcomes of the courses and programmes.

Authentic Assessment provides an appropriate remedy to these limitations of conventional examinations. Properly constructed and administered, it will facilitate an alignment between the intended and the assessed curriculum. It will permit the assessment of those competencies that are critical to the intended curriculum and address the limitations inherent in the conventional pen and paper test, thus allowing valid inferences to be made about student competencies in the course or programme based on the scores or grades derived from their examinations.

It must be acknowledged that some disciplines in higher education institutions in the Caribbean, including the Law Schools and the Schools of Medicine, have been making some use of authentic assessment. However, higher education institutions in the Region need to pursue a rigorous and sustained effort to be embed authentic

*Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109327*

assessment as a matter of policy into their courses and programmes. The momentous shift to the use of online assessment due to COVID-19 provides the opportunity to jump start the much needed transformation of assessment in the higher education institutions in the Region and to adopt authentic assessment procedures that benefit from existing and emerging online technologies.

#### **5. Authentic assessment for both formative and summative assessment**

In making more extensive use of authentic assessment which has been more widely used as a result of the challenges of COVID 19, Caribbean Higher Education institutions need to consider the value of this assessment approach not only in providing more valid assessment results for users of the certification they provide, but also the benefits of using this type of assessment to improve learning. Pokhrel and Chhetri [6] make the point that "authentic assessments and timely feedback are essential components of learning" [p138]. Higher education institutions must take advantage of the flexibility that authentic assessment provides to be used not only for both summative assessment but also for formative assessment.

Summative assessment provides information that may be used to draw conclusions about how well a student has attained the learning targets. It is concerned with students' achievement at the end of a period of instruction and becomes part of their record of achievement [18]. On the other hand, formative assessment provides the teacher and student with information that guides learning. It involves the assessment of students' progress by the teacher and the provision of feedback to help them make progress towards achieving the intended outcomes. The feedback that is provided through formative assessment is also helpful to teachers in understanding what students have learned and the effectiveness of their own teaching. On the basis of this feedback, teachers can plan interventions to guide students to cross learning hurdles and improve in areas where they are weak. In addition, formative assessment and the related feedback assist students in undertaking self-assessment of their progress. Students are able to identify the areas in which they are not doing well and can therefore take steps to assure their self-improvement [18, 25].

Summative Assessment data in higher education institutions may be used for formative purposes. A task may be conceptualised or disaggregated into several related dimensions, each of which may be summatively assessed and the scores from the various dimensions cumulated to produce an overall score for the task. However, the performance data on each dimension may also be used formatively to provide comprehensive feedback to the students on their areas of weakness and how these may be improved to aid performance on subsequent dimensions of the task or on related tasks.

As Caribbean higher education institutions consider ways on improving teaching and assessment following two years of the COVID 19 pandemic, the benefits of authentic assessment used both formatively and summatively should be considered. The contributions and complementarity of these two forms of assessment, using the available digital technologies, should be fully utilised.

Teamwork and collaborative skills on online digital platforms have been cited among the competencies that will become increasingly important in most areas of work over the next few years [17]. Here is another area in which authentic assessment is appropriate for development of relevant skills. It would involve a structured process that requires students to work together on a particular task without the direct and immediate supervision of the teacher [26]. The online digital technology being increasingly used in the delivery of teaching and assessment since the COVID 19 pandemic is an excellent means of doing so.

Group work enhances the contribution that assessment can make in providing students with authentic learning experience that prepares them to function better in today's real world, digital environment. It can help to develop, among higher education students, certain generic skills sought by employers or professions. These include not only skills of teamwork and collaboration, but also skills of leadership, conflict management, and organisational and time management [27–29]. Group work can therefore be seen as providing authentic experience for students as they engage in, and practice behaviours that are required in the real word of employment to which most will proceed [28].

#### **6. Beyond the COVID 19 emergency measures**

The transformation of the assessment process that is proffered in this paper requires Caribbean higher education institutions to go well beyond the emergency use of digital technology pursued over the last two years to cope with the challenges of the COVID 19 pandemic. It requires investment in building a technology capacity that is responsive to the future requirements of instruction and assessment in higher education. The Working Group of Emerge Education and Jisc specialists whose work was previously cited [17] posit that "by 2025, digital technology will make possible assessment that meets five key goals: more authentic, more accessible, appropriately automated, more continuous and more secure" [p7]. Such technology is important to the future of assessment in higher education in the Caribbean Region and in particular to authentic assessment which is essential for "rebooting" assessment in higher education institutions.

The move to more extensive use of authentic assessment that is recommended in this paper will require technology that could facilitate the online invigilation of summative authentic assessments, as well as the online observation and the review of the progress of students, especially for formative authentic assessment or summative authentic continuous assessment. The proper preparation of both teachers and students in higher education institutions in the Caribbean to make effective use of authentic assessment and to optimise the benefits that the available technology provides for the creative design and use of authentic assessment is a paramount consideration for the successful implementation of the recommended assessment transformation.

COVID-19 has already been challenging faculty of higher education institutions in the Region to design online assessments in which stakeholders have confidence. But the experience has also provided an opportunity to rethink assessment in higher education in the Caribbean and the central role of online digital technology in examinations of the future. A golden opportunity is now provided to higher education institutions in the Region to rethink the assessment process so as to (i) help students develop and demonstrate the much-desired higher order thinking, (ii) improve the learning experience and outcomes of higher education and (iii) imbue confidence in the creditability of higher education certification. Not only must the digital technology of higher education institutions in the Region be upgraded, but also the reskilling or upskilling of both teachers and students must be addressed to enable them to make effective use of the technology. These are the sine qua non for the successful

#### *Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109327*

implementation of the type of assessment for the future that is recommended here for higher education institutions in the Caribbean.

Successful implementation of the recommended transformation of assessment practices of higher education institutions in the Caribbean to focus on authentic assessment by building on the technology would rely on a facilitating mindset of teachers and students. This view is supported by the work of Lau, Chua, Teow and Xue [30] made the point that student buy-in is important for the successful use of new technologies. They noted that during COVID-19 implementation of online assessments, it was impossible to change mindsets of university students quickly about digital technology for testing. They surmised that this was due to the fact that through their high school years, these students had encountered mainly written examinations and tests as an indicator of their academic achievements. A United Nations policy brief on education during COVID-19 and beyond [2] also raised concerns about how much confidence could be placed on educators themselves in pursuing the task of assessing their students in certain practical or professional domains in the future. Clearly, these are issues that would need to be addressed for the recommended transformation of assessment in higher education institutions in the Caribbean.

Without clear targets and schedules for transformation, the required change will be slow in coming to Caribbean higher education institutions. These institutions and their host countries and governments need to be sensitised to the need to make the changes that are critically necessary to improve the process of assessment with the aid of online digital technology. In this regard, the experience of the rapid and radical emergency changes that already had to be made in the wake of COVID 19 by using online digital technology should provide the impetus for rethinking assessment for the future in Regional higher education institutions.

#### **7. Conclusion**

The time has come for higher education institutions in the Caribbean Region to make a clean break from the assessment that is so heavily memory dependent and information laden to assessment that is more meaningful and fit for the development and certification of students with competencies that are critical for Regional development. If the Region is to avoid being left behind in the unfolding examinations revolution, it must act with alacrity to build on the forced advances in assessment that have already been made in responding to the challenges of COVID-19. The Region's higher education institutions must consider how they may collaborate with providers of technology solutions to begin the task of accelerated development of an assessment processes that is fit for the preparation of students for the future.

### **Author details**

Stafford Griffith Faculty of Education and Humanities, University of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana

\*Address all correspondence to: drstaff@yahoo.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109327*

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*Perspective Chapter: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Acceleration of Change in the Assessment… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109327*

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### **Chapter 6**

## Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students amid the COVID-19: The Case of Eastern Ethiopia, Haramaya University in Focus

*Dawit Negassa Golga, Endris Seid Kassaw and Birhanu Midakso*

#### **Abstract**

The education system is one of the sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19. As a result, a new way of teaching-learning was initiated by world's educational institutions to try to educate their students through online learning platforms. Hence, this study aims at exploring barriers and enablers of online education as well as the psychosocial well-being of university students during COVID-19 in eastern Ethiopia with a particular focus on Haramaya University. A concurrent mixed method design was employed. A total of 384 participants were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaires, key informant interviews, and document analyses were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed thematically, then the analyzed data were integrated to get a holistic picture of the study result. The study revealed that university students experienced high levels of barriers, low levels of enablers, and severe levels of psychosocial problems while attending their education online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, proactive measures taken for identifying and removing barriers, enhancing enablers, and creating a support system that shields the psychosocial well-being of university students are recommended as appropriate intervention strategies to adapt the online education modality in universities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

**Keywords:** barriers, COVID-19, enablers, online education, psychosocial well-being, university students

#### **1. Introduction**

#### **1.1 Background of the study**

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was originated at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China initially as an epidemic, but spread rapidly in the world within few days. The World Health Organization (WHO) designated it a pandemic in March 2020 and issued safety measures and preventions to be taken to deal with the precarious disease [1]. To respond to COVID-19, many countries have taken diverse preventive measures, including restrictions on movements, social distancing, self-isolation, or quarantine; and asking people to work at home. Considering growing concern about the pandemic, the whole world abruptly gets into lockdown, which impelled the widespread closure of schools, HEIs, and other educational institutions in many countries [2].

In Ethiopia, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed and reported on 13 March 2020 [3] and a 5-month state of emergency was declared on 8 April 2020 (Proclamation no. 3/2020) to safeguard the citizens and curb the spread of the virus [4]. As part of the national response to the rising concern about the COVID-19 pandemic, an interministerial task force chaired by the Prime Minister has been established and, effective 16 March 2020 decided to take a variety of policy actions and precautionary measures such as airport surveillance and suspension of flights, travel restrictions, closure of international borders, flexible working arrangements, closing schools and universities, suspending sporting and religious gatherings [5]. The closure of all types of educational institutions, in turn, resulted in sending more than one million students to their homes [6]. As a result, over 26 million students from over 37,000 primary schools and over 500,000 primary school teachers across Ethiopia have been affected by the closures. The temporary closure of the HEIs was based on the principle to safeguard public health from the pandemic by avoiding large social gatherings. It is a common practice among educational institutions in general and HEIs, in particular, to close their doors when confinement or quarantine-related legislations are enacted [2].

In an effort to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus among student population, all the universities across the country canceled all campus activities such as face-to-face class delivery. Students and teachers were banned from meeting and only allowed to connect online or by other means that do not contravene social distancing measures. Universities have gradually transited to offering courses and programs in an online delivery mode than face-to-face modality.

Universities are situated at different extremes in terms of their capacities related to technology, instructional resources, and, above all, experienced teachers and those that do not. At one of the extremes are private or public universities with huge sizes, outstanding international exposure, and high reputation in virtual education.

At one extreme are the universities, public or private, of greater size and international exposure that already have a remarkable tradition of virtual education platforms generally forged into the system. In such universities, online education is used for offering courses for undergraduate students as a didactic supplement to the face-to-face modality where they can find programs, readings, exercises, and, of course, communication mechanisms among students and teachers. Yet, some of these universities that are well familiar with the intensive use of technology in education have realized the need to prepare students and teachers for the transition to online education with all that it requires in terms of technology and skills for digital teaching and learning.

#### *Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

Any major epidemic outbreak will have negative effects on individuals and society. Along with its high contagion and fatality rates, COVID-19 has caused a universal psychological impact by causing mass hysteria, economic burden, and financial losses. Studies have shown that public health emergencies can have many psychological effects on college students, which can be expressed as anxiety, fear, and worry, among others [7]. Mass fear of COVID-19 termed "corona-phobia," has generated a plethora of psychiatric manifestations across the different strata of society. The disease itself accompanied by forced quarantine to combat the virus applied by nationwide lockdowns can produce acute panic, anxiety, fear of transmitting infection, feeling of incompatibility, depression, increased substance dependence, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the long run. These have been fueled by "coronavirus infodemic" which refers to breeding fright and panic by laying out unchecked mind-boggling rumors, flamboyant news propaganda, and sensationalism [8].

University students were at an important developmental age for their values and judges and could be easily affected by the opinions and views from social media; therefore, their emotions were also vulnerable. A survey conducted by the UNESCO [2] on psychological crisis of higher education in the USA shows that 75% of them experienced anxiety and depression during COVID-19. A study carried out between March 17 and 19, 2020 to examine the impacts of COVID-19 in 172 USA HEIs found the social-emotional health and well-being of students, teachers, and non-teachers as an immediate concern for the institutions. Nevertheless, measures targeted to the specific area were limited to only two states out of 10. Other areas of concern include student access to the requisite technologies and platforms (76%) and the institutions' own real capacity, in technological and pedagogical terms, to offer quality online education (75%).

Therefore, the current study dealt with barriers and enablers in the education and psychosocial well-being of university students amid the COVID-19 pandemic in eastern Ethiopia, with a particular focus on Haramaya University.

#### **1.2 Statement of the problem**

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused massive disruptions across all human spheres. UNESCO [2] reported that as of the 6th of April 2020, 1,576,021,818 billion students were affected across 188 countries at all education levels. In Ethiopia, like in many parts of the world, the temporary cessation of face-to-face activities has been a huge disruptor of the functions of higher education institutions, mainly the provision of instruction in the face-to-face modality. With the gradual decline of the original fright and panic instigated by the pandemic, higher education institutions in the country have devised alternative strategies to maintain undisrupted learning within the context of disrupted classes. In this regard, one of the notable measures taken by the higher education institutions in Ethiopia with the direction from the MoSHE was the continuation of education through virtual instruction [3].

Despite the directives given by the ministry of education, however, there are a lot of challenges to offer online education to students considering the actual context of Ethiopia. One of the challenges in relation to this is that online classes are new for the large majority of students. Other challenges are lack of access to laptops and internet facilities at home, poor internet connection, and excess internet cost to follow their studies during a serious pandemic situation [6]. Still, another challenge is that many teachers are unprepared to teach online and cannot ensure student engagement due to deficits in ICT knowledge and skills. The transition to online mode of educational delivery poses

questions for academic staff about their capacity to deal with the existing technology, in addition to overcoming constraints related to internet accessibility and necessary equipment. Besides these, the transition from face-to-face teaching to online delivery has a serious impact on assessment and evaluation. Applying assessments online on those courses designed for face-to-face learning is a challenging task. Owing to the challenges encountered both from the students' and instructors' side, the quality and feasibility of online education is a critical issue of concern that needs proper attention.

In addition to the problems related to online teaching, the worldwide rapid increase of infected cases has created a sense of uncertainty and anxiety about what is going to happen. Earlier research findings [9–13] indicated that negative psychological effects may result from infectious diseases of uncertainty recently observed around the globe as the 2010 and 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the Ebola virus, equine influenza, and the Middle East respiratory syndrome. Apart from other emotional reactions, feelings of anxiety, stressfulness, and distress are common under situations of uncertainty like COVID-19. Dubey et al. [8] elucidated that mental well-being had been heavily affected by this kind of global pandemic. Students have had to rearrange their daily lives to adjust to a situation of confinement. University campus life and learning have a critical role in the psychological development of students and home confinement-related issues were hypothesized to have a psychological impact on university students. Prolonged periods of university closure and movement restrictions may lead to emotional unrest and anxiety. It has also caused a tremendous level of stress among the university fraternity, inclusive of students. This stress may lead to unfavorable effects on the learning and psychological well-being of students.

Earlier studies have documented the negative influence of pandemics on students' psychological well-being [14] which has led to acute depression and anxiety [15]. For example, a survey conducted during the last week of March among higher education students in the United States shows that 75% have said that they have experienced anxiety and depression because of the crisis [16]. Similarly, Cao et al. [17] investigated the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on university students in China. The finding showed that out of the 7143 students who participated in the study 0.9%, 2.7%, and 21.3% respectively had mild, moderate, and severe anxiety. Likewise, the study carried out to examine the psychological effect of COVID-19 on 1210 students taken from 194 cities in China, indicated that 53.8% of the respondents had psychological problems ranging from severe to moderate, with relatively higher impact effect on the female students (2020).

Despite all the problems and concerns revolving surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a paucity of research on the barriers and enablers that respectively inhibit or facilitate the online education modality as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the psychosocial well-being of students in HEIs of Ethiopia in general and in Haramaya University in particular. In addition, questions arise about whether the university is taking proactive measures to facilitate online learning and support the psychosocial well-being of students.

Hence, this study was designed to examine enabling factors that facilitated online education and challenges encountered by university students and their teachers who offer them online courses to put into practice the direction set by the ministry of education and their respective universities. By doing so, the study sought to examine major barriers that impede university students and their university instructors, respectively, to deliver and attending courses through online mode and disseminate best practices in this regard. Given the fact that the higher education institutions in

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

eastern Ethiopia have entered into a completely new, previously unexplored frontier of educational delivery under the pressure of COVID-19, and that they did not have a clear idea of how long the pandemic will last and the level of impact it will have on the system and its prime actors (i.e., students, teachers, and the university management) the researchers were initiated to conduct the study in this area.

#### **1.3 Research questions**

The study was guided by the following basic research questions:


#### **1.4 Purpose of the study**

#### *1.4.1 General objective*

The COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent closure of HEIs resulted in a shift from the face-to-face teaching-learning modality to the online modality in the postgraduate study programs offered at Haramaya University. To this end, the purpose of the study was to assess the perception of postgraduate students towards online education and the barriers and enablers in attending their education as well as problems of psychosocial well-being among students during COVID-19.

#### *1.4.2 Specific objectives*


#### **1.5 Scope of the study**

The target population of the study was regular postgraduate students. Geographically, the study was delimited to public higher education institutions (HEIs) found in eastern Ethiopia with a particular focus on Haramaya University. Conceptually, the study was delimited to assess barriers and enablers of online education and assess problems of psychosocial wellbeing among postgraduate students during COVID-19. The study focuses nature of online teaching-learning system, technological issues, process of academic issues, domestic/contextual issues, and psychosocial wellbeing as a measured variable, as well as living area, gender, and nature of program as demographic characteristics of participants as independent variables. The study was delimited to use a concurrent mixed research method. The study excluded regular postgraduate students who completed their coursework.

### **1.6 Limitations of the study**

While doing this research, the study had the following constraints:


#### **1.7 Definition of basic terms**


### **2. Review of related literature**

#### **2.1 Introduction**

In this section, major concepts and constructs in the study are defined and clarified. Particularly, the terms and concepts of coronavirus disease, online learning, and psychosocial well-being are defined. The review further examines and presents previous empirical studies conducted in the area at local and international levels.

#### **2.2 The coronavirus disease (COVID-19)**

According to the WHO [18], the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is termed an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Fever, dry cough, fatigue pneumonia, difficulty in breathing, and lung infection are some of the major symptoms of the virus [19]. On January 7, 2020, the virus was labeled as 2019-nCov and recognized as the third notable outbreak in recent times after the 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Patients diagnosed to have the virus affecting their lower respiratory tract with pneumonia were initially identified in December 2019 in Wuhan region, China. The spread of the epidemic was so fast that by the next month on January 3, 2020, the WHO announced it as a public emergency of international concern. Again, on the 11th of March 2020, the WHO officially declared that COVID -19 can be considered

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

as a pandemic owing to the growing number of cases reported and the number of countries affected [18].

Ethiopia is one of the affected countries for which the first confirmed COVID -19 case was identified on March 13, 2020. The number of cases in the country has been increasing alarmingly since the first case was reported. Three days after the first case was reported, the government of Ethiopia has taken different policy measures, such as the banning of all public gatherings and the closure of HEIs and schools. In addition, the government encouraged physical distancing, placed travelers from abroad under a 14-day mandatory quarantine, closed hotel bars until further notice, and banned travel through land borders. The measures taken by the federal government cascaded to the regional governments and, eventually, they imposed restrictions on public transportation and other vehicle movements between cities and rural areas. On the 8th of April 2020, a state of emergency was declared at the national level.

#### **2.3 Online learning during COVID-19**

Online learning is referred to as learning experiences in synchronous or asynchronous settings using devices of different kinds including mobile phones and laptops with internet access. According to Singh and Thurman [20], these environments allow the students to be anywhere geographically and yet enable them to interact with each other and their instructors [21]. Based on the modes of delivery, online learning can be classified into three typologies as synchronous, asynchronous, and open learning. Unlike the asynchronous learning, synchronous learning is organized in such a way that the courses are scheduled at specific times and in live virtual classroom settings. This enables the students to benefit from real-time interactions, hence getting instant messaging and feedback when needed [22]. Open learning involves, among other things, the preparation and release of appropriate teaching materials and the usage of teaching methodologies that encourage students to construct and contribute to knowledge, regulate the pathways, and rate of their own learning.

There are several studies (e.g., [23, 24]), which show that online teaching can produce better results at a lower cost. Online teaching has the potential to reduce the cost of education [25] which is a significant factor preventing more people from studying at tertiary level. In line with this, Harasim [26], points out that many benefits are associated with moving to teaching and learning to the internet and predicts a large-scale network of education being created from the concept of e-learning. Previous studies, too, (e.g.,[26–28]) show several advantages of online learning and provide a good number of reasons as to why students are likely to learn effectively through online studies. According to these studies, students have more control over their studies and have more opportunities at their disposal for reflection. The studies further revealed that successful online students tend to be organized and selfstarters who can accomplish their work without close supervision. Learning became more accessible, participatory, and relevant to the context with advances in ICT in education and the development of digital learning resources such as games, e-books, e-notes, models, quizzes, graphics, animations, simulations, online video microcourses, Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) [29].

It is quite understandable that online learning could provide a great opportunity for the HEIs in Ethiopia, as it might guide them to upgrade their technical infrastructure and make online teaching and learning a core aspect of their operation.

For almost if online teaching has been possible there has been a perception on the part of students, administrators, and some teachers that there are some barriers to the adoption of online teaching at the tertiary level of education [21]. Studies aimed at identifying the causes for resistance against online teaching have been conducted beginning as early as the 1990s [30, 31]. These studies have shown that teachers encountered explicit or implicit barriers in adopting online teaching. In relation to this, a comprehensive summary of the review of literature on barriers and enablers to online learning was made by Maguire [32] and presented under the two overarching themes: intrinsic and institutional barriers, and intrinsic, extrinsic, and institutional motivators.

Other studies have shown that offering online education to students is demanding and requires overcoming a lot of challenges. For instance, Bao [33] and Filius et al. [34] argue that going entirely online requires significant planning and investments from all sectors. The online infrastructure in many universities does not permit the utilization of distance learning owing to malfunctioning of the university websites and library websites, professors' skills deficit in manipulating electronic devices to the required level, limited provisions in research facilities for remote work, etc. When the issue is seen from the human dimension as well, switching to the online curriculum delivery mode is not an easy task due to lack of readiness from most of the academic staff not due to other reasons but an absence of the skills needed and previous related training. Despite high level of interest in distance tertiary education in the last decade, the number of resources available for conducting online learning remains inadequate in many countries. Guidance and counseling for students work less well or are not available at all in the distance mode for academic guidance, career guidance, psychological counseling, and professional orientation for school graduates.

Additional challenges include poor internet connectivity, high internet cost, and constraints of technological devices and infrastructure which seriously impede the involvement of students in online learning over and above their likely lack of alertness to follow their studies in a serious pandemic situation. Such persistence of lack of a developed learning system has compelled institutions to use social media platforms for educational activities. Failures of such kinds exhibited in higher education institutions in addressing the challenges that the students experienced created unhappiness and disagreement with the institutions [6]. Distance learning due to the pandemic is already having major implications for equity. These implications could be academic, social, financial, and physical taking students at-risk as an example. Learners who have no access to technology as well as those with learning disabilities and challenges are likely to be left behind resulting in exacerbating the existing disparity in access and retention. Likewise, as families are impacted by the economic effect of closed economies, students may be needed to provide support to their families, putting their studies in jeopardy. Without concerted efforts in terms of institutional guidance, counseling, and support, the most vulnerable students are likely to fall out of tertiary education.

As a leading experience worldwide, China is the first country to provide massive online education to hundreds of millions of students nationwide during the epidemic prevention and control period. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese Ministry of Education launched the "disrupted classes, undisrupted learning" initiative, providing flexible online learning to over 270 million students from their homes [29]. According to the Chinese Ministry of Education [29] in the 2018 academic year, there were about 518,800 schools at all levels, with about 16,728,500 full-time teachers and 276 million students in China.

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

#### **2.4 Psychosocial wellbeing**

The psychological tradition operationalizes wellbeing as the subjective evaluation of life via satisfaction and affect (e.g., [35–40]) or personal functioning [41]. According to this view, emotional well-being is an excess of positive over negative feelings; personal psychological functioning is the presence of more positive than negatively perceived self-attributes, such as personal growth. Research in well-being has been classified into two major streams; namely, the hedonic and eudaimonic approaches. In the hedonic approach, well-being is defined and conceptualized in terms of happiness in general and the presence of pleasure and absence of pain in particular, which makes it belong to the stream of research on subjective well-being [36, 37]. On the other hand, in the eudemonic approach, well-being is associated with a human potential that, when realized, results in a person's optimal functioning in life [37, 42] which is reflected in the stream of research on psychological [41] and social [43] well-being.

In the current literature, there seems to be a consensus that well-being is a multidimensional construct composed of three dimensions: subjective, social, and psychological, which add up to overall well-being. In turn, each of these dimensions is multi-dimensional. This is analogous to the three dimensions of health which incorporate psychological, social, and physical well-being according to the World Health Organization [44]. In contemporary literature, psychosocial well-being is defined in diverse ways, and it refers among other things to the physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, economic, and cultural health of the person. The consensus is that a psychosocial model should exhibit interconnectedness among the different aspects of overall well-being [45].

According to Diener et al. [46], subjective well-being refers to a person's cognitive and affective assessment of his or her life. Although there is no consensus on the number of dimensions that comprise subjective well-being, two main components are generally evident: a cognitive (satisfaction) and an affective (pleasant effect and low levels of unpleasant effect) component [35–37].

A combination of positive circumstances in all spectrums of life, such as contentment, both physically and spiritually; plus, optimal function is recognized as psychological well-being [47]. In addition, psychological well-being refers to how individuals control their life and activities [48]. Psychological well-being does not just make us feel good all the time but also involves negative emotions such as frustration, failure, and grief which are normal things in life [47]. Positive emotional and social support plays a fundamental role in building psychological well-being [49]. Therefore, managing negative emotions is important for long-term well-being. An individual who has high psychological well-being will lead a happy life and will be satisfied with their professional and personal life, capable and well-supported. Ryff [41] proposed the concept of psychological well-being as a multidimensional construct that consists of six distinct facets, which include self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, and autonomy.

Social well-being is the appraisal of one's circumstances and functioning in society [43]. Keyes [43] proposed and described social well-being to have multiple dimensions including social integration, social acceptance, social contribution, and social coherence to mention a few. Social integration refers to the assessment of the quality of one's relationship with the community and society at large. A healthy person feels that he/she is a part of society. Therefore, integration is the measure with which the person evaluates his/her relationship with other individuals and

his/her belongingness to society. Social acceptance is the social counterpart of personal acceptance: people who have a good feeling about his/her personality and recognize both the good and the bad sides of their lives symbolize good mental health [41, 50]. Consequently, social acceptance of others might be considered as the social equivalent of self-acceptance.

Social contribution is one's assessment of self in terms of social value. It includes the belief that one is a vital member of society, with the value of giving to the world. Social responsibility is the designation of personal obligations that ostensibly contribute to society. Social contribution reflects whether, and to what degree, people feel that whatever they do in the world is valued by society and contributes to the common good. Social coherence refers to the perception of the individual towards the operation, organization, and quality of the social world and it also involves a concern for knowing about the world. A healthy person not only cares about the kind of world in which he/she lives but also feels that he/she can understand what is happening around. Such individuals do not deceive themselves that they live in a perfect world; they have maintained or promoted the desire to make sense of life.

#### **2.5 Measurement of psychosocial wellbeing**

In measuring psychosocial well-being, researchers either focus on clinical symptomatology such as depression, or use global measures of life satisfaction and happiness [43]. The self is both a public process and a private product [51, 52] implying social and subjective well-being, respectively. Subjective well-being is most measured by asking people a single question, such as "how satisfied are you with your life as a whole?" In contrast to single-question measures, multi-item measures of subjective well-being were developed with the purpose of achieving greater reliability. Diener's [37] and Seligman's [53] models of subjective well-being are such multi-item measures of subjective well-being [37, 54, 55]. Multi-item measures have also been developed for psychological and social well-being by Ryff [41] and Keyes [43] respectively. These scales include different number of items measured on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1 = strongly disagree up to 5 = strongly agree).

#### **2.6 Impact of COVID-19 on students' psychosocial well-being**

COVID-19 is creating a psycho-emotional chaotic situation as countries have been reporting a sharp rise in mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, stress, sleep disorder as well as fear, among its citizens [56–60]. Depression and anxiety are both common mental disorders with a prevalence of 10−44% in developing countries and depression is the fourth leading cause of morbidity [61]. Brooks et al. [62] reviewed and reported quarantine could bring "post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. Stressors included longer quarantine duration, infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma." A Canadian study focusing on the effects of quarantine after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic found an association between a longer duration of quarantine with a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among people [63]. Some researchers also suggested long-lasting effects. Some HEIs have recognized the isolation that follows confinement and organized support mechanisms for addressing psychological and socio-emotional problems experienced by the university community, particularly the students. Although such measures were not common to

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

all universities when it has been taken it has usually capitalized on the resources of the psychology faculties or student welfare services. For instance, at the Franz Tamayo University in Bolivia 13 psychologists came on board to serve the university community, especially in situations of isolation [16].

Psychological distress has been considered a major and critical issue occurred among university students globally [64]. Five out of the top six health-related problems are psychology based on a study conducted in the United States [48, 64]. University students are at high risk for depression and anxiety symptoms ([65]; American College Health [66]) and are exposed to multiple stressors unique to this developmental period [67, 68].

Researchers in China observed that greater exposure to "misinformation" through social media are more likely to contribute to the development of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems among its population of different socioeconomic background [17, 33, 69, 70]. Studies before COVID-19 also suggested an inverse relationship between media exposure and mental health [71, 72]. On the contrary, a study in South Korea during the middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) reported a positive relationship between risk perception and media exposure [73]. Infodemic can increase the burden of psychological stress and anxiety on a large scale. People who use social networks excessively are prone to adverse effects related to infodemic. Studies suggest that social media, electronic media, and print media should avoid spreading hateful and stressful news.

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked consistently to diminished physical and mental health [74], partially because life at lower socio-economic levels appears to impair health-promoting self-conceptions [75].

#### **3. Research design and method**

#### **3.1 Study area**

The study was conducted in eastern Ethiopia with a focus on Haramaya University. Haramaya University is one of the government higher learning institutions (HLIs) located in the eastern part of Ethiopia at about 510 km from the capital, Addis Ababa. It was established in 1954 as an agricultural college but developed into a full-fledged university with diverse study programs in 1985. It is functioning on two campus premises, one of which is located close to Haramaya town and the other one located in Harar city. This university comprises nine colleges, one Institute, one Academy, and one Postgraduate Program Directorate under which about 34,207 students (25,984 undergraduate and 4367 postgraduate) are undertaking their studies. Except for the College of Health and Medical Sciences which is in Harar city, the remaining academic units are located on the main campus. The university launched its graduate study programs in 1979/80 academic year (**Table 1**) [76].

#### **3.2 Research design**

The study employed mixed research design, particularly concurrent mixed research design. This research design involves collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data simultaneously. Creswell [77] stated this kind of research design provides a more complete understanding of a research problem than either approach alone. Besides, it has the advantage of minimizing the limitations of both approaches.


#### **Table 1.**

*Average score interpretation for a five-point Likert scale.*

Among the two forms of mixed methods designs (sequential and concurrent) identified by Creswell [78], the concurrent mixed methods design was employed in this study where two independent strands of quantitative and qualitative data were collected separately in a single phase and merged towards the end by bringing the separate results together in the simultaneous analysis and interpretation parts. As Creswell and Plano-Clark [79] and Creswell [77] indicated that this method helps to have a general picture of the subject under consideration at a time.

#### **3.3 Sources of data**

For the study, both primary and secondary sources of data were consulted as thoroughly as possible. To this end, primary data was collected from a sample of postgraduate students (MA/MSc and PhD) of Haramaya University, and instructors (as key informants) who had active involvement in the online learning-teaching process. Besides, secondary data was collected from published and unpublished documents (both international and local), research articles, and different reports by various stakeholders.

#### **3.4 Population, sample size, and sampling techniques**

The population considered for this study was postgraduate students at Haramaya University. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select the participants by considering their heterogeneity in terms of program nature, level of study (MA/MSc and PhD), place of residence (rural and urban), and sex category. As it was a challenge to get the exact number of student population under consideration, the researchers opted to use a representative sample size formula developed by Cochran [80] for proportions. The formula is described as no = Z² pq/e² where no refers to the sample size, z stands for the selected critical value of desired confidence level and the z-value is found in a Z table. e is the desired level of precision (i.e. the margin of error), p is the (estimated) proportion of the population which has the attribute in question, q is 1 – p.

Hence, assuming a maximum variability of 50% (p = 0.5) and considering 95% confidence level with ≠ 5% precision, the sample size was calculated as follows: p = 0.5 and hence q = 1–0.5 = 0.5; e = 0.05; z = 1.96 no = ((1.96)² (0.5)(0.5))/ (0.05)² = 384.16 = 384. After the total sample size was determined, it was proportionally shared by colleges, institutes, and academy's population of postgraduate students. Therefore, the researchers had a total of 384 participants from the institute, academy, and all the colleges to fill out the self-administered questionnaire. Of the total 384 participants, 318 properly responded to the questionnaires. Hence, the response rate was 82.8%, which is considered adequate and excellent. Besides, 11 key informants who had a direct link with and active engagement in online learning-teaching were purposively selected and interviewed. This helped to triangulate the quantitative data obtained through the questionnaire.

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

#### **3.5 Methods of data collection**

Data were collected through questionnaires, key informant interviews, and document review. The questionnaire and interview guides were prepared in english.

#### *3.5.1 Questionnaire*

A Likert-scale type questionnaire was used for collecting quantitative data. The questionnaire comprises three major sections and a total of eighty-six (86) items. The first section aimed at collecting data about the study participants' socio-demographic characteristics and consists of eight (8) terms. The second section aimed at assessing the barriers and enablers experienced by the students while attending online education under COVID-19 and consists of forty (40) items categorized into four (4) components; namely, nature of online teaching-learning system (7 items), technology-related issues (6 items), teaching-learning process (15 items), and micro-level context-related issues (12 items). These five-point Likert scales ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree which are represented as 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = somewhat disagree; 3 = neither agree nor disagree; 4 = somewhat agree; and 5 = strongly agree. For the interpretations of items, their average scores were used.

The forty (40) items in the second section related to barriers and enablers in attending online learning under COVID-19 were developed by the researchers based on an extensive review of literature. To this end, previous studies conducted on the topic of online education in general and under COVID-19 were reviewed and major issues to be addressed were identified. Accordingly, the items were developed in such a way that each of them addresses different aspects of online education. The third section aimed at assessing the psychosocial well-being of the students and consists of 38 items classified into four components; namely, risk perception (12 items), depression, anxiety, and stress (21 items) which was adopted from public domain literature indicated in [81], subjective or social wellbeing associated with COVID-19 (5 items) which was adapted from public domain literature cited in [82] with some modification.

#### *3.5.2 Key informant interview*

Key informant interview was conducted using interview guide questions prepared to meet the objectives of the study. The questions were prepared with the aim to strengthen the quantitative data collected through questionnaire. The questions are mainly related to enablers/best practices observed from the online education system during COVID-19, barriers encountered during online education, and psychosocial problems encountered by the students under COVID-19. The items were prepared in english.

#### **3.6 Validity and reliability of instruments**

Data collectors were given training on the tools and overall ethics and skills of data collection for two days. Instruments of data collection were validated, standardized, and contextualized by the experts (researchers).

Pilot study was made on 5% sample of non-participants of the study and the necessary revisions to the instruments of data collection were made accordingly.

The filled-out questionnaires were checked thoroughly on a daily basis by the supervisors for their completeness.

#### **3.7 Methods of data analysis**

The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis in a parallel way. Accordingly, the quantitative data were organized using SPSS software version 20 and analyzed by employing descriptive statistics. Besides, the qualitative data was sorted out, transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically by integrating it with the quantitative data. This helped to have a relatively holistic picture of the subject under consideration from vantage points.

#### **3.8 Ethical considerations**

The proposal for conducting the study was approved and a letter of cooperation was obtained from Haramaya University Research Office after submitting the proposal to the office. Training was provided for data collectors on how to secure confidentiality and privacy of the study participants by using the consent form attached to each questionnaire. Accordingly, anonymity was assured by excluding respondents' names during the data collection process. In addition, informed consent was obtained from the study participants after clearly explaining to them the purpose, procedure, duration, possible risks, and benefits of the study. Participants who were not willing to engage in the study and those who wanted to abstain from filling out the questionnaire at any time were allowed to do so.

In order to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 during data collection, care was taken using hand sanitizer, facemask, and keeping an appropriate physical distance. To make sure that these ethical standards were met, the researchers had close supervision of the data collectors throughout the data collection period.

#### **4. Results and discussions**

#### **4.1 Participants' demographic characteristics**

#### *4.1.1 Distribution of the study participants by living area*

As shown in **Table 2**, the majority of study participants 250 (78.6%) live in urban areas while the rest 68 (21.4%) live in rural areas during the closure of the university due to the COVID -19 pandemic.


**Table 2.** *Current living area.* *Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

#### *4.1.2 Distribution of the study participants by gender*

The study involved both males and females. **Table 3** displays the distribution of the study participants in terms of sex.

**Table 3** shows that out of the 318 study participants, the males account for 241 (75.80%) while the females account for 77 (24.20%).

#### *4.1.3 Distribution of the study participants by age*

The study participants were drawn from different age categories. **Table 4** depicts a summary of the study participants in a 10-year age range category.

As indicated in **Table 4**, a large proportion of the study participants 260 (80.8%) belong to the age range of 25–34 years, followed successively by those who belong to the age range of 35–44 years 38 (11.9%), and those in the age category of under 24 years of age 14 (4.4%).

#### *4.1.4 Distribution of study participants by field of study*

Participants of the study were drawn proportionately from diverse fields of study being offered at Haramaya University. The sample was taken from all the eleven colleges of the University based on the sampling frame which consists of the list of postgraduate students actively attending the study programs during the COVID-19 outbreak. Hence, **Table 5** depicts the distribution of the study participants across the eleven colleges of the University.

**Table 5** shows that proportionally high percentage of participants in the sampling distribution was taken from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 111 (34.9%) followed respectively by the College of Health and Medical Sciences (20.4%) and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities 35 (11%). The least


#### **Table 3.**

*Gender.*


#### **Table 4.**

*Participants' age category.*


**Table 5.** *Participants field of study.*

percentage of participants were taken from the College of Law 5(1.6%) followed by the Sport Science Academy 7(2.2%).

#### **4.2 The enablers or barriers to attending online education system**

#### *4.2.1 Perceived experience on the nature of online teaching-learning process*

The extent of participants' perceived experiences on the nature of online teachinglearning process is depicted in **Table 6**.


**Table 6.**

*Participants' perceived experiences on the nature of online teaching-learning process.*

#### *Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

The study sought to find enablers and barriers perceived by the study participants in relation to the nature of the online teaching-learning process. As it can be seen from **Table 6**, the study revealed that the study participants had positive perceptions towards all seven (7) items pertaining to the nature of the online teaching-learning process as indicated by above-average mean score. By arranging the mean scores for each of the items in their descending order, it could be seen the extent to which the nature of the online teaching modality was perceived by the study participants as enabling in terms of using their time effectively (3.11), providing them access to information (3.02), cost-effectiveness (3.0), enhancing the learning process (2.99), offering them access to standardized and updated contents (2.80), and pulled their preference towards the online modality as compared to the face-to-face modality despite recent exposure to the former (2.70).

Participants perceived various degrees of negative experiences on technological issues. **Table 7** indicates that participants agree that there was slow interruption and unreliable internet connection. Although it is possible to understand that there were good experiences among individuals, **Table 7** depicts that there were barriers to technological issues for participants to some extent. In this regard, participants had problems/limited access to computer or other devices used for online learning, consistent power/electricity supply suitable for online learning, technical skills of using the computer and the internet, to afford the internet cost, and problems with consistency and reliability of the online learning platform.

From **Table 8**, participants agree to some extent on perceived experience regarding process of academic issues. Such experiences were perceived to some extent as the quality of the learning materials was high, and the learning materials were designed to facilitate learning independently. There was a hard time understanding the learning materials by their own selves; there was adequate communication between the teachers and students during the online learning, and there was good interaction among students during the online learning, which obtained adequate support from course instructors and adequate guidance and support were provided from the department. The library service provision was suitable for online learning, and the online education was well organized and administered, They had difficulty adjusting to the online learning platform, but they found the


#### **Table 7.**

*Perceived experience on technological issues.*


#### **Table 8.**

*Perceived experience on process of academic issues.*

online education corresponded with their learning style. Variety of assessment methods were used during online education, the assessments used fairly measure knowledge, skills, and attitude change in students, and the assessments were fairly distributed in terms of time.

The average score in **Table 8** indicates that participants disagree with perceiving experience as the library service provision was suitable for online learning and the usage of variety of teaching-learning methods during online learning.

**Table 9**, it is indicated that participants agree to some extent on issues include they had limited space at home for attending online learning, having several responsibilities to fulfill at home that negatively affect their involvement in online learning. They had to work for generating income alongside their online learning due to financial constraints, and they had problems fulfilling basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) that negatively influence engaging learning, mobility restrictions due to COVID-19 had negative effect on my participation in online learning their culture was not convenient for online learning, conflict/disagreement in the family affected my engagement in online learning, their parent's lack of knowhow about internet affected my online learning and their friends do not encourage me to attend education through online learning. Participants also agree on issues of sociopolitical instability

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*


#### **Table 9.**

*Assessment on domestic/contextual issues.*

at local and national levels negatively affected their participation in online learning. Participants, however, disagree that there was a consistent power/electricity supply conducive to online learning and that the internet cost was affordable to be used for online learning.

Data on the perceived experiences of enabling and barriers to online learning during COVID-19 were qualitatively collected. And thus, the qualitative data analysis indicates that there were agreements among participants to enable experience of the system. Participants, for example, agree that the online education system was considered an opportunity and an attempt to use the platform for the delivery of education. Related to this, one of the key informants stated that "We are good as a beginner for the online system. We have at least learned something new as a complement to the conventional education system." The study reveals that there are experiences on enablers in attending online education system. These include access to information, access to standardized and updated content, enhances learning process, enables use of time effectively, enables to increase interest in students learning and it is cost-effective. In the same way, the studies of Twigg [23] and Means et al. [24] showed that online teaching is cost-effective. In addition, it is indicated that online teaching has the potential to reduce the cost of education [21]. Furthermore, it is shown that online courses, videos, and games make learning more accessible, engaging, and contextualized [29]. Thus, it is possible to understand that online learning during COVID-19 provides opportunity for HELs in Ethiopia to upgrade their technical infrastructure and in making online learning a core aspect of operation.

The study also shows the existence of adequate communication and interaction among teachers and students and support or guidance from course instructors as well as from departments. Online learning enables the provisions of library services to be suitable and it is relatively well organized and administered. Furthermore, the study found that online education corresponds with the consideration of students' learning style, variety, and fairness of assessment methods, opportunity, and attempt to use the platform for the delivery of education. In more detail, the online education system during COVID-19 enabled to meet students from a distance, conduct classes online while students are even on campus, teach anytime and from anywhere undertake online thesis and dissertation examinations, and meet thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection. Besides these best experiences, online education is easy to share materials for all students at a time and has a high tendency to student-centered as it makes students self-reliant. It can be inferred from this study that running online education was appreciated by instructors due to its relative advantage of being the best solution during crises of COVID-19. In the same way, studies like Gautam [83] confirmed that online education enables learning and teaching to be more accessible in both time and space.

However, the study also revealed that barriers to online education include unreliable internet connection, limited access to computer or other devices used for online learning, and problems with electricity supply suitable for online learning. There are also problems related to technical skills of using the computer and the internet, afford the internet cost, and consistency and reliability of online learning platform. In addition, there is difficulty in adjusting to online learning platform and usage of a variety of teaching-learning methods.

Furthermore, the study revealed other barriers to online education, such as limited space at home for attending online learning, burdens of several responsibilities to be fulfilled at home instead of freely involve in online learning, financial constraint, problems related to fulfilling basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.), mobility-restrictions all which have a negative effect on learners' participation in online learning. More specifically, learner's culture, conflict/disagreement in the family, lack of knowhow about internet usage among parents and friends of learners, sociopolitical instability at local and national levels, lack of full awareness and unfamiliarity of teachers and students with the online education system were challenges which affect online education during COVID-19. In support of these findings, studies by Gautam [83], Heng and Sol [84] pointed out that problem with internet connection, lack of experience and insufficient training among teachers, and lack of required resources and tools, are indicated as challenges of online education. Heng and Sol [84] further stated that educational institutions, teachers, and students are not ready to break away from conventional learning and teaching approaches.

From the above results, it is plausible to infer that online education system had several barriers that hampered its smooth and effective delivery. Hence, it does not suffice to say it was successful and efficient owing to the multifaceted challenges/ barriers in the context of Haramaya University and probably in Eastern Ethiopian context in general. This result, however, contradicts what Gautam's [83] claim about *Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

online education: online education is efficient, affordable, improve student attendance, and fits different forms of learning styles.

#### **4.3 Experiences of psychosocial wellbeing during online education aimed COVID-19**

**Table 10** indicates the COVD-19 risk perception where participants disagree on issues including, COVID-19 exits everywhere, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic will greatly affect them personally. In case of infection with COVID-19, the consequences for their health will be severe but they did agree with the statement "COVID-19 is just a common cold no need to worry about it." One reason for the contrasting result could be the use of two negatives in the item leading to misunderstanding of the core message the item conveys. This table also indicates that there was strong disagreement among participants on issues, including they have no means of control over the COVID-19 pandemic, they will infect themselves as well as others with COVID-19, people close to them will die of COVID-19 and believe that people who cough are infected with COVID-19.

**Table 11** indicates that the study participants agree to some extent there were psychological problems during COVID-19 at various degrees of severity. In such regard, it is indicated, for example, that the participants had mild to severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress with average mean scores of 3.39, 2.92, and 2.30 respectively.

**Table 12** indicates that participants disagreed to some extent on as they have felt cheerful, calm, relaxed, active and vigorous, and woke up feeling fresh and rested during COVID-19and their daily life has been filled with things that interest them.


**Table 10.** *COVID-19 risk perception.*


#### **Table 11.**

*Depression, anxiety, and stress.*


#### **Table 12.**

*Subjective or social wellbeing.*

As to the psychosocial problems students faced during COVID-19, the key informants indicated the presence of some frustration and stress among students due to fear of missing classes because of unfamiliarity with the online system, poor internet connection, and lack of access to internet. In some colleges, students had severe frustration with the online system, and they even asked for reading materials to be given to them rather than attending online education. They had a fear that they may not complete their education on time due to the challenges they encountered from the online education system and lack of the required resources (e.g., laptop and internet access) to attend education online.

Furthermore, the study also revealed that participants had severe depression, anxiety, and stress. And there were also problems related to frustration, stress, and fear of missing classes because of unfamiliarity with the online system. As a result, students were exposed to tension as they were not able to attend online education effectively. In support of this, Armstrong [85] indicated that online learning lacks human interaction, and it leaves students without sharing various positive experiences with their peer group. In the same way, the study by Sun et al. [86] indicated that students and some teachers had tensions in getting familiar with the online system. In other way, it is indicated that due to the absence of physical interaction between students and teachers, there were experiences related to sense of isolation.

Moreover, unaffordable internet costs for students with low economic backgrounds create psychological challenges in their online learning process. In support of this idea, Jaggars et al. [87] mention that students from low socio-economic families cannot afford broadband connection and basic equipment, such as laptops/computers or tablets. One can infer from the above results that unfamiliarity with the online system and weak internet connection, among others, caused some frustration and stress among students and instructors.

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

#### **5. Conclusion**

COVID-19 has disrupted most industries in the world. Education is the only industry that is completely transferred to online mode in most countries around the world. Online learning was the best solution for continuing education during the pandemic, especially in tertiary education through the barriers/challenges that result in negative consequences in learning-teaching process and its assessment to some extent. There are also problems related to risk perceptions and psychosocial well-being among learners of online education system during COVID-19.

#### **6. Recommendations**

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are forwarded.


#### **Acknowledgements**

The authors gratefully acknowledge and appreciate the financial support provided by Haramaya University for the study.

### **Author details**

Dawit Negassa Golga1 \*, Endris Seid Kassaw2 and Birhanu Midakso3

1 Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

2 Department of Psychology, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

3 Department of Sociology, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

\*Address all correspondence to: dawitnegassa2002@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Barriers and Enablers in the Education and Psychosocial Wellbeing of University Students… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108505*

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#### **Chapter 7**

## Perspective Chapter: Analyses of Literature on the Lived-Experiences of International Post-Graduate Students during COVID-19

*Rakgadi Phatlane, Bridget Asonglefac and Chika Sehoole*

#### **Abstract**

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, university students experienced difficulties with their education. Research shows that the constraints were mostly felt by international post-graduate students. Possibly, their small social networks, constrained employment options, and travel restrictions worldwide could have played a part. This chapter does a literature review on the lived-experiences of international post-graduate students studying in foreign universities, especially in a South African university. Questions guiding the review were: 1. What inferences are made from literature on experiences of international post-graduate students studying in South African universities? 2. What suggestions are made by literature to alleviate their difficulties? The chapter demonstrates the discriminatory tendencies of government programs and how higher education institutions were required to abruptly close residences. The closure escalated the adversity of most international students. Further, the chapter partakes in the discourse analyses of the plight of international students and hopes to influence future direction of international education policy during crises times. The chapter concludes that in internationalisation issues, a more conscious decision of the interests and needs of international post-graduate students should be seriously considered to be socially acceptable, justifiable and fair.

**Keywords:** COVID-19, pandemic, international post-graduate students, lived-experiences, social justice, internationalisation

#### **1. Introduction**

Students who have crossed a national or territorial border for the purpose of receiving an education outside of their country of origin are referred to as international students [1]. In South Africa, foreign students who enter the country in search of a master's or doctoral degree are referred to as international post-graduate students. In December 2019, Wuhan in the Chinese province of China was the site of the outbreak of the coronavirus, commonly known as COVID-19 [2]. According to [3], the virus' fast spread resulted from many people crossing borders in the beginning

of 2020. This chapter is on how international post-graduate students fared in South Africa during the COVID-19. An overview of international students' profiles has been described, their experiences before and during COVID-19 that includes the process of switching to remote teaching and learning. Writing on their lived experience as they navigated through this crisis will help gain an understanding of their lives in their context and potentially increase a cross-cultural awareness in advancing diversity and increase inclusion on university campuses. Specific information about how students felt and experienced things as well as what administrators did in response to the myriad of problems, their experience will be documented to help educators support the retention and success of international students, particularly, during times of crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is worth noting that [4] this explains the importance of concentrating on the academic and daily lives of international students. As such, if this focus is important during normal conditions, then exploring the lived experiences of international post-graduate students in abnormal circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic is even more significant [4]. Continue by noting that its significance is not only for internationalisation itself but also for humanitarian work to help them in the future adapt to changing circumstances within a policy framework that includes them. From the above statement, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have created several real-world problems to be researched by researchers. Foci are on students, either local or international, an exploration of their experiences during crisis times, which in the case of COVID-19, gave rise to pandemic pedagogy.

Authorities in Wuhan, China, reported treating a cluster of dozens of pneumonia cases from an unidentified source in December 2019 [2]. The unique COVID-19 virus was quickly found, and its source was found to be a seafood and poultry store in Wuhan [2]. When in close contact with other people, the coronavirus mainly transmits by 'droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes' [5]. The virus had already spread across the globe when the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic in March 2020 [3]. Thus, WHO proclaimed 'a public health emergency of international concern' on January 20, 2020, following the confirmation of COVID-19 cases outside of China in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and the first case in the United States [2]. Soon, coronavirus cases and fatalities were recorded everywhere, and by March 2020, the number of deaths worldwide had surpassed a million [3]. Given the easiness of transmission of the coronavirus and the sharp rise in cases worldwide, governments all over the world started looking for strategies to stop the virus from spreading quickly [2, 3, 6]. Other countries that had not yet reported their first cases of the virus began looking for ways to prevent it from spreading into their country [7, 8]. However, these efforts appeared to be in vain as all developing countries reported their initial small number of cases, which ultimately grew to hundreds of thousands [3]. This resulted in the announcement of a national state of disaster in many countries, which forced the suspension of most activities, including schooling, and the temporary closure of all educational institutions [9].

South Africa is considered an advanced knowledge hub on the African continent that draws many foreign students, especially African international students [10]. South Africa has a knock-on effect that includes a more reasonable cost structure when compared to the United States and the United Kingdom, which makes it a destination of choice for most African international students [11]. As a result, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa declared a national state of disaster on March 15, 2020, to curb the virus's spread [6]. The South African

#### *Perspective Chapter: Analyses of Literature on the Lived-Experiences of International... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110152*

government-imposed measures based on a risk-adjusted strategy, considering factors such as the number of infections, the rate of spread, the capacity of health institutions, and the economic and social consequences of implemented limitations [6]. This strategy comprised a five-tiered alert system that determined the level of restrictions to be imposed throughout various stages of the national state of disaster. The system went from lockdown level 5 (high spread and low health system readiness) to lockdown level 1 (low spread and high health system readiness). Most, if not all, students have been affected by COVID-19-related measures like travel prohibitions, campus closures, and the shift to online teaching and learning. Some of these measures may have posed unique difficulties for international students, which local students may not have experienced at all or may have encountered differently. It is against this background that this chapter seeks to document the lived experiences of international post-graduate students in a South African university during the COVID-19 pandemic.

#### **2. The twenty-first century higher education**

Without a doubt, the knowledge economy of the twenty-first century depends on higher education [12]. Nonetheless, this century has reached a tipping point because of the huge shocks it has already suffered. The world has changed and technological advancement has reawakened it, including higher education. Since December 2019, higher education has been considerably disrupted and affected by COVID-19. This has severely affected educational institutions, and the consequences are still being felt around the world. Indeed, this global pandemic has severely impacted internationalisation of higher education [13, 14], at best since the World War II.

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, several studies have been conducted that look at how the pandemic has affected internationalisation of higher education around the world [15–17]. Numerous findings from these studies have shaped our view of how higher education is changing. While some researchers [18–21] have written extensively about the various strategies used by universities during this pandemic. Maphosa [22] has written about the widened inequality caused by the pandemic due to the unexpected shift to online teaching and learning. Others [20] have focused on how this has affected university students, especially their psychological wellbeing. Though this is not the focus of this chapter, the inability of many universities that formerly relied on international students to recruit them back has been a significant problem affecting higher education because of the pandemic [23]. According to the [23, 24] 'by mid-April 2020, 94 per cent of learners worldwide were affected by the pandemic, representing 1.58 billion children and youth, from pre-primary to higher education, in 200 countries'. It is evident that higher education institutions turned to online teaching and learning to preserve the 2020 academic year by utilising the Internet and digital platforms. These programs led higher education around the world into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Academics are still unsure of the full effects of the pandemic on students, higher education, and the internationalisation of higher education. Due to this, there is a study gap about how the pandemic is affecting and changing the internationalisation of higher education around the world. Toquero [25] calls on educational institutions to 'conduct research to proliferate and record the effects of the pandemic on the educational system' because of this gap. Indeed, information gained from such studies will assist different stakeholders in engaging with and comprehending current issues and developments to successfully execute the necessary policies and practices to strengthen the university's essential components, as outlined by [26]. This chapter attempts to fill that gap. The current chapter focuses on international post-graduate students' lived experiences during the pandemic because of the disruption caused by the global pandemic. Such understanding, according to [15], gives higher education around the world the chance to adapt and innovate in a future of uncertainties such as during crisis times.

#### **3. Empirical evidence of international students' experiences during COVID-19 internationally**

As the literature regarding the experiences of international students was reviewed, it was undoubtedly seen that little to no study has been conducted to precisely investigate the lived experiences of international post-graduate students in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some studies that have been conducted in different countries, including South Africa and different countries regarding other international students, however, covered different topics on the experiences of international students during the epidemic.

Previous studies that explored international students' experiences in the receiving country identified problems adapting to the host culture and education system, English language barriers and social issues [27]. International students experience greater cultural awareness and sensitivity in interactions with their peers, which results in more friendships with other international peers because their shared experiences contribute to a greater sense of belonging, helping them overcome negative experiences. International students face issues of discrimination and prejudice, particularly concerning ethnicity [28]. Yet, experiences of unintended prejudice and discrimination and perceptions of cultural intolerance, unfairness and inhospitality result in the distrust of international students towards domestic students and host institutions perhaps. Thus, the importance of engaging domestic and international students and faculty in dialogues to exchange perspectives and experiences, so that everyone can benefit from the great diversity in South Africa as a country. Hence, although previous studies have documented international students' challenges in the receiving country, research is needed to investigate the lived experiences of international post-graduate students during COVID-19.

In addition, researchers conducted some studies in China [9], Australia [29], Canada [7] and South Africa [6, 8]. These studies were done on international students, in general, or on specific characteristics regarding international students. Precisely, the studies of [6, 7, 9, 30] have been carried out on international students in general. Along the same line, other research has focused on types of international students such as international medical and nursing students from low-and middleincome countries [31], international first-year university students [32], inclusion in times of the pandemic [6] and the effects of COVID-19 on international students [8]. These studies covered the experiences of international students during the COVID-19 pandemic from different angles such as investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international students in Canada [7] and exploring ways of improving adaptability [32]. In addition, other studies looked at the quality of online learning [9], mental health status [33] and inclusion in times of COVID-19: the case of international students in South Africa [6] and the effects of COVID-19 on international students [8]. Therefore, it is presumed at this juncture that if international students

*Perspective Chapter: Analyses of Literature on the Lived-Experiences of International... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110152*

commonly encounter some challenges while studying overseas even before COVID-19, these difficulties may have increased during the pandemic given that there were restrictions of movement, closures of airports and lockdowns, which caused everyone to stay indoors.

#### **4. Overview of international students' profile in South Africa**

International students are thought of as degree-seeking and transient students. Most international students in South Africa are those pursuing degrees. The number of overseas students increased by 32.5% between 2005 and 2017 [34]. Nearly 6.5 per cent of the total student population of 1036 984 [35], or 68,036 international degreeseeking students, were enrolled in South African universities in 2017. Half of this rise can be attributed to an increase in the enrolment of international post-graduate students [34]. Aside from the positive economic effects, it seems that international students also contribute to the host nation's intellectual and cultural capital, life experiences, unique skills and perspectives of the host countries. From the foregoing, it can be concluded that the presence of international students fosters cross-cultural understanding while also broadening domestic students' perspectives on the world. Regardless of the positive effects [36], however, posits that international students in South Africa, especially those from other African countries, have always struggled with immigration policy constraints, which are viewed as discriminating even before COVID-19. Brown and Brown [37] add that these international students are a source of revenue to South Africa and equally contribute to the university education system. In the view of [38] although the international student experience is incredibly unique, reflecting the diverse nature of the community, many universities usually categorise international students with local students and ethnic minorities. It is important to note that, feeling at home plays a role in how international students perceive themselves in their university communities and how they interact with their domestic peers. Therefore, investigating the lived experiences of international post-graduate students during COVID-19 becomes imperative.

#### **5. Internationalisation policy of higher education in South Africa**

According to [39] it is common practice for higher education in different African countries to internationalise their higher education. Sehoole and Knight [40] explain that internationalising higher education in Africa creates the possibility to attain the desired developments within African countries. Sehoole and Knight [40] posit further that internationalisation of higher education in Africa can help in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which, in return, ensures the strengthening of Africa's development. Nevertheless, in the view of [41], policy of internationalisation of higher education is a topic that has not been recognised in some African countries. For example, according to the Department of Higher Education and Training [11], the existence of international students in South Africa shows the necessity for clear national and institutional policies. Therefore, international students including post-graduate students within South African higher education establishments should be catered for [11]. But it may seem as though, what is anticipated to constitute internationalisation policies in the various higher institutions of learning is not fully known as the question remains, how many international post-graduate

students are duly supported resulting from the provisions of this policy and especially during COVID-19 pandemic? Thus, the necessity for this proposed study which seeks to explore the lived experiences of international post-graduate students in a South African university in a time such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

#### **6. International students' experiences in South Africa during COVID-19**

When universities closed for early recess on 18 March 2020, students were asked to vacate university premises and return home [6, 30]. As emphasised by [42] such requests seem to have created challenges for local and international students, especially when travelling home was linked to health risks and financial difficulties [6]. Corroborate the view of McLellan [41] that international students face some additional challenges. For example, contrary to local students, international students often stay in residences even during recess periods and return home upon completion of their studies. Therefore, in this instance, they were expected to make international travel plans at short notice and at a cost that they probably did not budget for given that the outbreak of the pandemic was sudden. In the view of recent research [8] flight cancellations, border closures and international travel bans made it more difficult for international students to travel [6]. Add that with only a few days between the national lockdown being announced and it taking effect on 27 March 2020, some students had to leave the country in such a hurry that they left behind personal belongings and learning materials. From the above, it may seem as though international students have encountered enormous challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regarding visa-related issues, on 26 March 2020, the Minister of Home Affairs issued a range of concessions for foreign nationals inside South Africa, including international students that extended their visas until 31 July 2020 [43]. This permitted students to retain the same legal status as they held prior to the lockdown. Subsequently, the concessions were further extended to 31 October 2020 [44]. While these concessions assisted international students, whose visas expired during lockdown in terms of their legal status in the country, there seem to be other material hardships for this set of students due to the closure of VFS (Visa Facilitation Centres for Department of Home Affairs in South Africa) offices and the unavailability of its services [8]. See [8] add that, there was no facility to change the conditions of visas, which affected students who wanted to change universities and could not register at their new institutions. Students who had completed their PhD studies and were due to commence postdoctoral research could not apply for the correct visa and missed funded research opportunities [8]. From my own perspective, it seems as if some universities did not adhere to the visa extension concessions by Refs [43, 44] otherwise students who had completed their PhD studies and were due to commence postdoctoral research could have easily applied for the correct visa in order to not miss funded research opportunities as explained by [8]. Moreover, the DHET announced on 26 August 2020 that the target for completion of the 2020 academic year will be the end of February 2021 [45]. By implication, some international students needed to extend their study visas beyond December 2020. Still in the view of [8] even if an extension was granted automatically by the DHA, international students still incurred additional unanticipated expenses, such as maintaining their medical aid coverage, which is a core study visa requirement in South Africa. Hence, this proposed chapter

on the lived experiences of international post-graduate students during COVID-19 is justifiable and timeous.

#### **7. Coping and support structures**

Studies that explored coping and support show that international university students must find ways to cope with adjustment, the social environment and the academic contexts through various support structures [36, 46]. Compared to international counterparts from North America and Europe, not many students from other African countries in South Africa come well funded from their countries of origin [10]. These students thus have additional challenges to meet recurrent expenses like food, transport and accommodation and require financial support [36]. Contreras-Aguirre and Gonzalez [47] identify social support structures as a solution to the adaptation challenges brought by the new socio-cultural environment faced by international students. Leong [48] add that building social relationships produces a link between adjustment and social support, which determines how well international students adapt to the host university. Nevertheless, these social relationship influences do not necessarily involve host populations [36]. International students may find it easy to form social networks with those who share their nationality and cultural background, and these connections often serve as safeguards in their day-today experiences [49]. Social networks are important because they may enhance the sense of identity, capabilities and well-being of overseas students. Ref. [36] add that university orientation programs give students yet another chance to make friends and get accustomed to their new surroundings. International students thus struggle with alienation and a fundamental comprehension of the social and spatial settings if they miss orientation [36]. From the above literature, it can be concluded that universities have the responsibility to create and provide support structures and programs that promote social-cultural competencies such that international students get the opportunity to build confidence while retaining their cultural individuality.

#### **8. Diversity**

Higher education institutions all throughout the world have made considerable efforts towards welcoming international students in the past 20 years. South Africa with its diverse areas in Higher education institutions (HEIs) aims at providing access to education to all, thus resulting in growing culturally diverse student bodies [50]. According to [51] diversity is not only reflected in ethnic, racial and gender differences but also in people's personalities, education, background and functioning. Differences in age, gender, and sexual orientation constitute the primary dimension of diversity, whereas differences in religious orientation, education, geographical location and income constitute a secondary dimension [36]. Diversity in this study could, therefore, be defined as a collective mixture characterised by similarities and differences. A mixture, according to [36], is often a source of different tensions and complexities where diverse groups usually require diversity management. Judging from the above, it can be said that institutional administrators are therefore required to ensure equity and fairness in integrating similarities and differences between all students into the institution.

The principle of equity implies a critical identification of existing inequalities, which are the product of policies, structures and practices based on background, geographical location, race, gender, disability and other forms of discrimination or disadvantage. All existing forms of unjust differentiation should be abolished to empower, give financial support and bring about equal opportunity for individuals (who are students in this study) and institutions [52]. Institutions must ensure that the practical implementation of rights is secured through access and social inclusion for there to be equality of success [53]. A universal human right, social inclusion in South Africa is defined as a collection of shared values, norms, ideals and objectives that promote integration. Therefore, social inclusion unites people of all races and transcends national building and social cohesiveness to eliminate prejudice and intolerance [52].

#### **9. Conclusion**

Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has disrupted the fundamental operations of university institutions. Nevertheless, it also serves as an eye opener for higher education institutions (HEIs) to positively adapt to an environment of internationalisation that is constantly changing and to become institutions that are more receptive and more inclusive. This includes using more innovative methods to support the diverse student populations, especially international post-graduate students, who are extremely important to the development of the South African Higher Education and the intellectual and cultural diversity of South African universities. Thus, this current chapter sheds light on the analyses of literature on the lived experiences of international post-graduate students during COVID-19, including the scarcity of social opportunities, difficulties obtaining and utilising healthcare in South Africa, immigration laws that hampered their academic advancement and career preparation and incidents of xenophobia and discrimination. Many of these obstacles already existed before COVID-19, but the pandemic made them worse. This chapter thus draws attention to crucial problems that must be solved to create an environment on campuses that is more inviting and inclusive of international students and places a high priority on their academic and well-being, especially in crisis times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Perspective Chapter: Analyses of Literature on the Lived-Experiences of International... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110152*

#### **Author details**

Rakgadi Phatlane\*, Bridget Asonglefac and Chika Sehoole Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: rakgadi.phatlane@up.ac.za

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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#### **Chapter 8**

## Perspective Chapter: Addressing the Learning Management System Challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic

*Alfred Mutanga, Gomotsegang Joyce Pule and Molefe M. Motshegwe*

#### **Abstract**

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that most face-to-face higher education systems were not prepared to deliver online education. In this book chapter, the authors narrate how a learning management system, which was only used as an optional delivery mode before COVID-19 at a Comprehensive University in Botswana, has become an institutionalised system during and after the COVID-19 crisis. The book chapter clearly demonstrates the performance bottlenecks emanating from both the hardware and software stacks of the learning management system. Furthermore, the authors expound on the detailed end-user challenges by unravelling the varied performance and optimisation techniques used to mitigate the challenges faced.

**Keywords:** blended learning, learning management system, performance optimisation, mitigation, instructional design, eLearning

#### **1. Introduction**

The academic years, 2020 and 2021, were very challenging for most academic institutions around the world because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government of Botswana declared a state of emergency by intruding successive extreme lockdowns and social distancing in the first week of April 2020, and the only Comprehensive University in Botswana (UB) was forced to close and suspend its teaching and learning activities. Most of the institutions, including UB, had to refocus their resources to fight the pandemic and ensure that teaching and learning continue so that learners are able to complete their programmes and graduate.

Although UB has been engaging in eLearning for more than twenty (20) years, first with WebCT and then Blackboard, and then later with Moodle Learning Management System (LMS), only a small percentage of academic staff were using this alternative teaching approach. The main reason was that eLearning was optional and there was no policy to compel staff to engage in it. However, things changed drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic when extreme social distancing was introduced. The institution put in place various strategies to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus among members of the university community by putting in place the necessary ICT infrastructure, installing online streaming equipment and using Moodle LMS.

Furthermore, lecturers were advised to deliver their lessons remotely and ensure that students receive their learning materials and attend lectures remotely. Lecturers started recording their lectures and sending them to their students who were all over the country (and even abroad) on lockdown through the Moodle LMS and other Web 2.0 tools. Despite all these efforts to ensure continuity in instructional activities, there were challenges of lack of resources to access learning materials, lack of skills to teach and/or learning online, unavailability of internet in some areas, etc.

The challenges that UB experienced were faced by other institutions not only during the COVID-19 pandemic but even before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges include unreliable internet connectivity [1–6] and lack of training on the use of the LMS [1–6]. There have been challenges such as resistance to change, high costs and lack of funding in some institutions [1–6]. In some instances, because academic staff have other duties to perform, it was observed that they could not concentrate on working in the LMS [1–6]. However, although the challenges observed from the previous literatures are very similar to those that UB faced, there is need to extrapolate these challenges within UB's context.

#### **2. Elearning challenges faced by UB during the COVID-19 pandemic**

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a myriad of teaching and learning challenges at UB. These challenges span from the preparedness of university policy framework, digital and social inequality to the preparedness of the academic staff and students to learn online [7].

#### **2.1 Digital and social inequality**

The use of digital technologies due to pandemic-induced swift transition from physical to digitalized remote teaching and learning exacerbated digital and social inequality amongst students as some of them did not have appropriate gadgets and internet to access their courses. The digital inequality in developing countries like Botswana is closely tied to contextual economic environment, such as income, utilisation of resources and unemployment levels, and these have an effect on how students use information and communication tools [8, 9]

For instance, students living in rural areas where the ICT infrastructure is poor are more likely to have challenges in accessing course materials through eLearning platforms from their instructors than those in urban areas [8, 9]. Similarly, the pandemic increased the existing gap in social inequalities between students in that, students from economically poor families were not able to afford laptops, smartphones, etc., and buy data, or have access to internet, compared to those in more affluent families. Hence shifting to remote teaching and inequality in access to digital learning opportunities had an adverse effect on some students.

#### **2.2 The use of Moodle LMS for teaching and learning**

Moodle learning management system (LMS) was used as the main platform for online teaching and learning, which was mostly used to host learning materials and

#### *Perspective Chapter: Addressing the Learning Management System Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109226*

for assessment purposes. Lecturers placed their lecture notes, handouts and web resources such as videos, e-books and journal articles meant for students to access and use for their learning. Some courses were also using tools within Moodle, such as assignment and quiz tools, for online assessment. There were also those courses that used communication and collaboration tools such as news forums, discussion forums and email to communicate and collaborate within their courses. It was only less than fifty percent (50%) of courses offered at UB that used Moodle LMS. Some instructors were reluctant to use Moodle LMS, and this was due to several reasons, such as perceived ease of use, attitude towards technology, technical support, training, personal innovativeness and self-efficacy. These are the same factors identified in the literature that have a significant relationship with behavioural intention to use a learning management system [1, 3–5, 10, 11, 13].

However, the UB has invested in ICT infrastructure and eLearning platforms to increase access to its programmes. In its University Strategy to 2028/29 'Creating a Future for the Knowledge Generation', the key external drivers that could impact the university were identified as to promote access and equity in the higher education system and to rapidly develop information and communication technologies (ICTs), hence creating new opportunities for teaching and learning. The underlying rationale is to enhance the learning and teaching at UB by using blended learning context to support the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice for lifelong learning.

Hence, before the pandemic eLearning at UB was regarded as an option and some instructors hardly used Moodle LMS in their instructional activities. For instance, there were 1,974 courses offered at UB and only 655 (33.2%) of courses were offered online. Some instructors regarded use of digital technologies to teach as an extra job for them since they had to prepare their materials before uploading them to the eLearning platform. Efforts were made by the institution to address some of these factors, by, for instance, providing continuous training to equip instructors with the necessary skills of using the LMS for teaching and learning purposes, and improving their confidence. As postulated by Cigdem and Topcu [14] that instructors may not use LMS features efficiently if they lack training. The eLearning workshops conducted by the University of Botswana emphasized the benefits (or advantages of using the LMS) so that instructors understand the usefulness of the system in improving their teaching.

The hard lockdowns that were imposed throughout the country at the beginning of year 2020 forced the institution to come up and implement emergency preparedness plans and engage in emergency remote teaching (ERT) to try and complete the academic calendar. The ERT as it was commonly referred to was meant to provide short-term and reliable access to instruction and support during the pandemic relying heavily on available eLearning platforms. However, since UB was not fully prepared for the rollout of emergency remote teaching as it came at a very short notice, the implementation of emergency preparedness plans was haphazard and under-resourced. Even though the use of digital technologies has been on the agenda of UB for some time, neither instructors nor students were sufficiently equipped or skilled for remote teaching. Although continuous professional development on use of technology was provided all along, the efforts were intensified during the pandemic.

#### **2.3 Moodle server infrastructure**

The UB started using Moodle LMS as its main learning management system in year 2019 after phasing out Blackboard. The system was locally hosted, and the

installation was done by the resident information technology (IT) experts and the storage was 300GB and content server increased from 450GB to 650GB, expandable to 2TB, which was supplemented by the 1TB granted on OneDrive for every staff member and UB student. All these expansions were done in preparation for the emergency remote teaching and in anticipation of the increase in online courses and learning activities that would be taking place online. However, it did not take long to experience storage limitations since a lot of content was generated by users, which needed a good amount of space to grow. Most of the content generated was multimedia content for eLearning materials such as videos downloaded from YouTube, lectures recorded from MS Teams and other lectures recorded by UB multimedia development and production team.

As the number of users increased the performance of Moodle began to be very slow, resulting in some of the activities such as the Quizzes and Assignments not working optimally. For example, online tests and examinations were adversely affected. In some cases, instructors could not upload course content as the system gave some error messages. The situation was exacerbated by the low bandwidth since UB at the time only had 2.5 Gbps internet connectivity, and worse still there were a lot of power outages at Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and sometimes internet was not available at Botswana Telecommunication Corporation (BTC).

As indicated earlier that UB locally hosted its Moodle site, which therefore meant managing our own server. Initially, this seemed to be easier, but as the number of courses and users grew, it proved to be a very demanding task more so that IT department was not familiar with Moodle LMS, which has large and complex tools that require extensive technical expertise on server maintenance and technical support. The IT staff had to perform updates of new versions of Moodle, build new features, resolve technical glitches and manage integrations. Some instructors decided to use other technologies to reach their learners.

#### **2.4 Use of other eLearning platforms**

In addition to Moodle LMS, the institution used various eLearning platforms such as ZOOM, Microsoft Teams, Bluejeans, and social media (e.g., WhatsApp, Yammer and Facebook) to conduct instructional activities. The School of Medicine immediately after introduction of extreme social distancing started using Zoom. With this platform, they were able to do lecture presentations and hold discussions. But the excitement of using this platform did not last for long as there were issues with licensing and limitations in the number of people allowed to use the platform at a given time.

The university then licensed Microsoft Teams and all staff and students at UB have accounts in Microsoft Office 365 (MS 365) and each instructor has been allocated 1TB of storage in MS 365. This allows lecturers to share content in MS 365 OneDrive with their classes through a link in Moodle. MS 365 also has Yammer, which works like Facebook. All staff and students have access to it. Only UB community would have access to Yammer as compared to Facebook, which is open to public. It is ideal for collaborations and class discussions. Students can continually interact with students in the class. Instructors would need to create classes using their class list. Henceforth, MS Teams platform in MS 365 was also used for online learning. The instructors could also do a live feed (Synchronous)/live streaming in which the students beyond classroom contacts were able to join and be part of the class. This catered for most of the University of Botswana international students abroad who could not attend

*Perspective Chapter: Addressing the Learning Management System Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109226*

lessons because of the restrictions caused by COVID-19. MS Teams was also used for online collaboration and video conferencing. Staff duplicated content in Moodle to Office 365 as backup in case the content is not accessible in Moodle ensuring the online concept of everywhere, anytime and anyhow (flexibility).

The usage of social media platforms also increased, and some lecturers preferred to use social media platforms since most of the tertiary students engage through mobile technologies, which in a way influence their motives and social interactions [7, 11–17]. The most widely used application during COVID-19 period was WhatsApp. WhatsApp allowed lecturers to create groups for their classes according to class lists. With this platform, instructors could do text messaging, group chat, WhatsApp on web and desktop, voice and video calls, photos and videos, document sharing and links to web addresses [4, 6, 8, 16], and students were able to ask questions and interact with their peers. Students could do individual or group assignments and submit them online. The challenges that were observed were uploading very heavy files, storage of generated content and conducting online tests and exams.

#### **2.5 Online lecture streaming equipment**

As alluded to earlier, the institution used Microsoft Teams application in Microsoft Office 365 to record lectures and send them to students, and through this, it emerged that lecture recording is thus generating media-rich educational resources for blended and virtual classrooms. Hence, since the realization of the media-rich content (particularly audio and video), UB saw the need to install lecture recording equipment in a lecture theatre. Therefore, in 2021, nine (9) lecture theatres equipped with recording and streaming equipment to facilitate and enhance full implementation of blended learning as envisioned through the UB strategy. The system capture all audio and video of the instructor and all projected on-screen content and make the finished materials available to students via the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). Students can attend live sessions wherever they are, even abroad. With some registered and potential students from across Botswana borders, online streaming would enable them to register, start and complete their studies competently without setting foot at the physical campus.

#### **3. Addressing the LMS challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic**

The challenges of the LMS users at UB faced spanned from the lack of technical skills to understand the hardware and software stack of Moodle LMS, professional development challenges, dealing with a hybrid eLearning platforms and resources, governance and policy issues. This section details the measures put in place to address the LMS challenges herein mentioned.

#### **3.1 Professional development initiatives**

The Educational Technology Unit of the Centre for Academic Development at UB embarked on a continuous professional development (CPD) for academic staff. The emphasis of the CDP initiatives for academic staff at UB is on the strategic integration and use of technology in teaching and learning. It is worth mentioning that these CPD initiatives were provided all along, but the efforts were intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. As an example, from February to November 2021, 266 instructors were

trained. This was possible because the eLearning workshops were facilitated through MS Teams, hence there was no challenge of accommodating many participants since they could learn from anywhere. The training covered the following topics:


Coupled with the operationalisation of a dissemination and the workshops herein mentioned, the Educational Technology Unit offered webinars, showcases, panel discussions and demonstrations on online instructional design, and remote teaching and learning strategies. It was observed during the course migration process that some lecturers recycle materials from past years and have a lot of redundancy in the courses. The multimedia files being used in the courses have made some course to be voluminous, with some reaching 4 GB. A suggestion was made to use a repository that stores large multimedia files, and these will only contain a reference link in the Moodle LMS.

#### **3.2 Knowledge of the Moodle LMS ecosystem**

In the first quarter of 2022, it was observed that the setup of the Moodle LMS application needed to be optimised further by someone with higher skills than what the IT Department at UB currently possesses. The skills required included web server management, database optimisation, Moodle LMS performance tuning and optimisation and PHP programming skills. In general, UB required IT skills that address all issues related to the software and hardware stacks of the Moodle LMS infrastructure. A Moodle LMS task team with its terms of reference was established. The terms of reference of Moodle LMS task team were:


*Perspective Chapter: Addressing the Learning Management System Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109226*

• Formulate and advise on the responsibilities of IT department and Educational Technology Unit with respect to the use, administration, maintenance and review of the Moodle LMS within UB.

When the Moodle LMS was eventually hosted into the cloud there have been some positive rewards that came along with moving Moodle LMS to the cloud, and these, from an institutional point of view, should be regarded as constituting the best practices. As an example, by hosting Moodle LMS in the cloud, there is a seamless migration to the latest stable version of Moodle, which will contain the latest patches and bug fixes. The hosting company has an in-depth knowledge of the software stack for Moodle, and this is coupled with the in-house knowledge of Moodle, which has made the application stable.

#### **3.3 Moodle LMS performance tuning and optimisation**

Moodle LMS has been known through various research studies that it contains some performance issues [1–4, 6–9, 15, 16]. Therefore, the Moodle system administrators should test the performance of the system by subjecting it to different number of users, especially at a time for conducting online quizzes with configuration of RAM, and the hard disk drives (HDDs) taking not of the virtual address space [16–22]. The Educational Technology Unit has implemented various caching optimisations by optimising the Moodle unified caching setup, utilising a combination of OpCache, MemCache, APCu, Redis and local and shared file system caches [23]. These implemented caching optimisation procedures and performance evaluation measures further stabilised the Moodle LMS and enhances positive user experiences. The caching optimisations and compression techniques implemented in the Moodle LMS at UB have resolved most of the serious performance issues, especially when several participants are attempting quizzes at the same time or when collecting feedback from participants, etc.

As a result of these experiences, the Educational Technology Unit at UB concluded that the entire Moodle LMS optimisation should be tested based on load testing the Moodle system, concurrently identifying and removing the performance bottlenecks. A proper and sound understanding of systems analysis, design, testing, implementation and review methodology needs to be understood by both IT and the educational technology unit teams to avoid any inconveniences to the users.

#### **3.4 A skills development plan for IT and Educational Technology Unit staff**

The institution recognised that Moodle LMS is now hosted in the cloud and an inventory of the skills gap in both IT and the Educational Technology Unit was done. All the necessary training needed by both departments was identified. It was agreed that the training must be given and passed for UB to be certain that it has the skills to manage and administer Moodle.

#### **3.5 Addressing eLearning governance and policy issues**

UB has initiated the development, implementation and institutionalisation of an eLearning Strategy (2022–2027), which intends to provide a holistic approach to facilitating eLearning initiatives in a well-coordinated and structured manner aligning with the university's aspirations on the scholarship of learning, teaching and research. Accompanying the eLearning strategy is an eLearning policy, which has been well received within UB as it ensures that it has an equal footing in participating in the ICT educational developments. This should improve the university's rating and competitiveness locally and internationally. The eLearning policy is providing a structured assurance that the university remains competitive and maintains its position as a role model for best practices in tertiary education. It has also been observed that the university itself has recognised the need for an eLearning policy.

Ingrained in the policy is UB's own eLearning philosophy, which advances institutional strategic priorities at the same time following global trends in higher education. The knowledge economy in the globalised world means that UB has no choice if it is to survive as a university of the twenty first century. As such the points above present compelling evidence for case for UB to develop and institutionalise an eLearning policy that needs to be actualised by an implementation and monitoring plan through a strategy. The same policy issues that affected UB were also found in a study that addressed factors affecting LMS usage in higher education institutions in Tanzania [24, 25].

#### **3.6 Addressing the bandwidth and network infrastructure**

The IT department at UB reviewed, redesigned and implemented all networks related issues including bandwidth, load balancing and security issues related to the Moodle ICT infrastructure. In the networking infrastructure review and implementation report included is how the computers in some laboratories are now setup for online examinations and tests. The lessons learnt from the report are as follows:

University of Botswana has acquired 6 GBps of bandwidth from Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited and has not exceeded 70% of the utilisation. This has been propelled by the drastic use of home internet or mobile internet technology. In short, UB's bandwidth is still more adequate to sustain it for a few more years. UB does not have multi-internet connections due to budget constraints.


*Perspective Chapter: Addressing the Learning Management System Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109226*


In summary, the computer networking infrastructure review and implementation report indicated that the university network infrastructure, despite old devices here and there, remains robust to drive the Moodle LMS. The report further advised to put more emphasis on coding and optimisation of the system as well as the rightful resource allocation. Mostly, users and even some of the administrators have little knowledge to differentiate between network, system and server hardware problems. The source of the problem can only be identified if all relevant stakeholders are called on board to run the right diagnostic tools and analyse the findings. Addressing internet connectivity and bandwidth issues have been also cited in many research studies [26–28].

#### **4. Conclusions**

The skills gap within UB in most of the Moodle LMS software stack cannot be understated. Apart from caching optimisations and database optimisation skills that are urgently needed, the LMS administrators should acquire various levels of Moodle certifications. The urge to promote the skills development in Moodle software stack, Moodle administration and Moodle certifications at UB are commendable. As it has been observed that a reactive or a haphazard approach to the design, development and implementation of the Moodle LMS in UB has serious repercussions on the core business of teaching and learning.

Furthermore, it has been shown that there are no concerted efforts between the IT and Educational Technology Unit in consolidating the existing skills, knowledge and expertise of the Moodle ecosystem, and as a result these two departments duplicate duties and work in a siloed approach. This can only be the institutionalisation of policies and service-level agreements.

An in-depth understanding of Moodle assessment activities, from a design and implementation perspective, is required especially the native tools in Moodle that enhance the integrity of the assessments. This is coupled with sound pedagogical approach for online course design should be orchestrated by the Educational Technology Unit. Furthermore, in supporting the Moodle LMS users, an enhanced user support system that has tracking ability such as a helpdesk ticketing system needs to be in place and operational.

As has been alluded in this book chapter, there has been unanimous and compelling evidence for UB to develop, implement and institutionalise an eLearning policy that needs to be actualised by an implementation and monitoring plan through an eLearning strategy.

In a nutshell, the LMS usage challenges that UB encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic is relatively the same as those encountered by similar institutions. Putting in effective and efficient measures to address these challenges will directly increase the user adoption and acceptance of the LMS.

#### **Acknowledgements**

The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the office of the Director Centre for Academic Development and the Office of Research and Development at the University of Botswana for the funding for the applied research of the Moodle Learning Management System and the publication of the research findings.

#### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **Author details**

Alfred Mutanga\*, Gomotsegang Joyce Pule and Molefe M. Motshegwe University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

\*Address all correspondence to: mutangaa@ub.ac.bw

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Perspective Chapter: Addressing the Learning Management System Challenges… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109226*

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[27] Thi Phan T, Vu C, Thi Doan P, Luong D, Bui T, Le T, et al. Two decades of studies on learning management system in higher education: A bibliometric analysis with Scopus database 2000- 2020. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice. 2022;**19**(3):1-23

[28] Wijaya A. Students' responses toward the use of WhatsApp in learning. Journal of Teaching & Learning English in Multicultural Contexts. 2018;**2**(1):46-55

#### **Chapter 9**

## Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field amid COVID-19 Crisis

*Charles Enock Mulimba Ruyembe*

#### **Abstract**

The changes experienced by African higher education institutions over the past decade remain unprecedented. An increasing external pressure, linked to the broader and modern concept of higher education that looks beyond to bringing about a new level of self-empowerment and graduate's employability has consequently, brought about a need for overhauling higher education systems in African countries. Eventually, the validity of higher education reflections from the field amid COVID-19 crisis, casts back a light to conducting a serious educational discussion. This chapter argues neither recognized framework established nor innovative strategies are considered beyond teaching and learning to observe higher education as a fulcrum of knowledge based learning in African higher education. Findings from a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 30 creative entrepreneurs and arts alumni from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam and other East African universities, reveal that many suffer a social undermining problem. Hence, there is an importance of enhancing educational innovation by cultivating social capital while at university.

**Keywords:** knowledge based learning, human capital, social undermining, educational innovation, fulcrum

#### **1. Introduction**

The definition, idea, validity and purpose of higher education reflections from the field may vary subject to the policy, practices, time, laws and culture of a respective country. However, throughout this book chapter, the term *"higher education"* refers to post-secondary education, training, and research guidance that is offered in institutional settings like universities, colleges and vocational-technical schools or centres [1]. Besides, this chapter paints higher education as a link between *education* as a process, *cultural life*, *creativity* and *innovation* within a person. It acts as one's route to success, enhances one's social and cultural connections that are important to maintaining and fulfilling expectations or needs of equality and productivity [2, 3]. In brief, higher education is an evolving concept based on the freeing of the mind that looks ahead to bringing about a new level of self-actualization and empowerment to an individual student and institutional level for the sound growth of a modern society [4]. It is a process that helps an individual to acquire knowledge and skills necessary for appreciating and adapting to the environment and ever changing social, political and economic conditions of a society by means of which one can realize his or her full potential [5].

The importance of higher education is universally recognized because the entire development of either a developing or developed country is linked to the *type, vision, mission, objectives and quality of higher education,* that respective country provides. Nevertheless, higher education reflections from the field amid COVID-19 pandemic, provides the reasons why this study opted to base on the topic in question, with African countries higher education perspective. The COVID-19 crisis has created havoc and disrupted a good number of lives and livelihoods. This book chapter discusses why there is a need of developing competency and matching skills with the labour market in the student body while at the university, college or vocational training institute. Equally important, the chapter addresses what happens when we unleash the talent of higher education students, and analyses how can digital solutions contribute to helping creative entrepreneurs and arts alumni from higher education learning institutions recover and achieve better lives? The chapter seeks to trigger serious educational discussion so as to find sustainable ways of transforming the world of higher education in African countries paradigm for global sustainability. Hence, a serious educational debate has to be taken on board so as to rationalize a need for the transformation, including the content of the curriculum with special attention to the educational process, identification of a missing link to reflections from the field amid COVID-19 crisis.

To achieve the aims stipulated above, this chapter examines the views of 30 creative entrepreneurs and arts alumni from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam and other East African universities interviewed, to test the major hypothesis that "*there is a strong relationship between the importance of higher education and its being termed as a fulcrum of the academic community in Africa"* From the findings, this chapter develops some implications to support future higher education graduates to advocate for framework establishment through a structured way of conducting serious higher education debates.

Eventually, enhance *"social relations"* as carriers of knowledge that facilitate graduates to keep on learning new things, reinforce old ideas, solve problems, be creative and able to make decisions [6]. Consequently, develop social and cultural connections that are vital for the maintaining of the idea, and validity of higher education reflections from the field through satisfactory conditions of equality and innovative approaches.

#### **2. Literature review**

#### **2.1 Higher education as a fulcrum of knowledge based learning**

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore that higher education has become a real part of the globalization process and not strictly an isolated single nation's property but a cross border matching of supply and demand entity [7]. So far, however, there has been little discussion about the new notion and a broader definition of higher education as an institution and its relevance to beyond teaching and learning

#### *Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

settings, knowledge, skills, economy and labour market promotion in the modern world. The past two decades have seen the rapid development of higher education as a *fulcrum* or a tool that plays a central, essential role and a turning point of creativity, innovation, critical thinking skills enhancement and a stimulant towards lifelong learning, decent work and economic growth.

In the new context of higher education, this book chapter argues that a special attention has to be paid on four major issues, these include: *firstly*, fresh thinking in regard to education and training policy direction. *Secondly*, the content of the curriculum reform and *thirdly*, the entire educational process including pedagogical approaches. *Fourthly*, the new sociological perspective of higher education. In clarification, fresh thinking to the new education and training policy direction must be aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. The set of ideas or plan that have been agreed upon as well articulated in Goal 4 on *quality education*, Goal 8 on *decent work and economic growth* and Goal 10 based on *reduced inequality,* must be observed and reflected into our African higher education and training policies. However, the sustainable goals are an urgent call for action by all countries either developed or developing as agreed in our global partnership. With the *content of the curriculum reform,* this chapter's argument is largely based on the current demands, and, trends within higher education and the contribution that curriculum plays in relation to inequality [8], and what is its output to the enhancement of a knowledge based-learning. Study reports show that Universities and higher learning institutions are mainly offering interdisciplinary subjects and programs as an alternative to and in other circumstances alongside disciplinary subjects [8]. Therefore, the focus in the changing world interdisciplinary curriculum reform in the lens of enhancing the knowledge that graduates already have, and for the sake of their understanding what they are going to achieve through practice should be to solve their societies' big challenges. Recent evidence suggests that the knowledge based learning should not be "characterized as an encyclopaedia, with independent entries for information about separate topics, but rather as an interconnected network organized according to relational links between concepts" [9]. In that context, the entire education process including pedagogical approaches at higher education level must help in shaping institution's structure and resources, accommodate social practices, help in nurturing student's talents and give a spotlight on societies problems. Additionally, examine the sociological perspective as a new look at their familiar surroundings and the world with acknowledgement of higher education as a "*global academy*" [8, 10]. In any case, students from both developing or developed countries, will keep on crossing borders and joining higher learning institutions. In that context, higher education as a fulcrum of knowledge based learning, goes beyond the teaching and learning process by freeing the students mind and making individual graduate to look beyond to bringing about a new level of self-empowerment. Eventually, the situation remains as a call for a more socially just higher education system.

#### **2.2 Giving a creative workforce the right future skills**

The integration of art-rich education that enhances *"human capital*" being the right skills, knowledge, experience embedded in an individual, critical thinking and problem solving based in real life cycles and grounded in the knowledge of work [11] is of great importance. At all levels of education, the shaping of human capital is of great value because it stimulates graduates' right future skills, enhances employability chances, practices and creative workforce livelihoods. In any case, the integration's

importance is due to the growing dependence on science, technological advancement and placing creative works paradigm at the heart of sustainable development policies as a social phenomenon in the twenty-first century [12].

On the whole, this book chapter reviews the literature concerning the usefulness of integrating the arts, cultural and creative industries in institutional settings due to sociological and epistemological perspectives. The uptake of cultural, creative industries (CCI) and creative economy in Africa and developing countries has been due to the new global economy. As a result, it has motivated youngest people, artists, creative entrepreneurs and arts alumni from various universities, colleges and vocational-technical schools to engage in creative works for the betterment of their future [3]. However, this chapter argues that lack of enhancing higher education systems including establishment of relevant policy frameworks and curriculum reform discourses have significantly contributed to the suffering of employability to many African university graduates. Even so, learners or graduates, policy makers and curriculum developers lack of understanding entry points to the CCI approach and its implications. Under certain circumstances, it has been hard to have in place examples of developed teaching materials by experts' and educational practitioners in Africa Universities that can give proven results and impact [13]. To policy makers, there is a challenge of understanding the sectors value chain, its potential, richness, contribution, application, and marketing strategies of its products, services and goods. That is to say, African governments, policy makers and many curricular developers have let down higher education graduates on every step of their journey from universities or colleges to entering the labour market [14]. These have extended graduates suffering due to the unleashing of the talent of every learner and many graduate without creativity and matching skills for the job market. In clarification, the matching skills include but are not restricted to digital skills for the future workforce like: animation, multimedia production, design in engineering, building and maintaining, IT systems and networks, research and quantitative data analysis [15].

#### **2.3 The missing link to reflections from the field**

One question that needs to be asked, however, is what are the missing links to the idea, validity and higher education to reflections from the field amid COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on *higher education and labour market policy*. Several studies have revealed that through improving the relevance of curricula, and creating new and demand-driven programs, including career management skills are aspects required so as to constitute to employability in university and tertiary students [16, 17]. Nevertheless, in the face of COVID-19 crisis, due to the lockdowns experienced, no corner of *career, university and learning institutions shutdowns and businesses* in either developed or developing country have been left unaffected by the pandemic. Therefore, the lockdowns bringing about some *social and economic havoc* to all including the Cultural and Creative Industries sector. In clarification, the situation, made artists, freelancers and cultural professionals being exposed to economic shocks due to the loss of their jobs or being destroyed, eventually, many were in a vulnerable position [18]. Admittedly, COVID-19 has proved that there is a need to equip graduates with the right knowledge and skills. So as to make graduates thrive in times of disruption also building a reputation for digital transformation that can help them to survive in the changing environment.

#### *Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

So far, however, reflections from the field show that there has been little discussion about *firstly*, investing in a work based learning competency [19] so as to offer opportunities for further education study, learning new information and skills so as to enhance employability chances to graduates. Studies show that learning new information is an individual phenomenon and a socially situated process which has to have a dual impact of the *global competition*, on one side, offered by the *new information technology*, on the other side [3, 20]. *Secondly,* reflections from the field show that, higher education has become part and parcel of the globalization process [7] due to the fact that there is an increased higher education students' opportunity and mobility. For example, UNESCO reports show that, currently, there are around 235 million students enrolled in universities around the world. Out of the above mentioned amount, 6 million are studying abroad. Whereas, more than half of the identified 6 million are studying outside their region, a figure that has become three times in the last 20 years [21]. Therefore, there is a need of enhancing networking so as to keep abreast interacting with other experts or professionals focused on exchanging information and developing professional social contacts [22]. This chapter argues that a step of cultivating social capital, is of vital importance due to the fact that it motivates the formulation of networks for creative entrepreneurs, creative experts as professionals, arts alumni from global Universities and other higher learning institutions. Thus, the networking allows individuals as graduates to exchange experiences, realize their entrepreneurial capabilities, establish connections, work together in a group, and eventually, achieve a common purpose [21, 22]. *Thirdly*, the research to date has tended to focus on higher education graduates and employability rather than the internal efficiency of pedagogy and pedagogical approaches in elementary schools [23] of the African settings so as to make a significant change. This chapter argues that the effectiveness of higher education merits mostly depends upon internal efficiency of primary, secondary and undergraduate education. In that context, esthetic literacy and future skills are two parallel aspects towards giving a creative workforce the right future skills for work and society. Hence, a relationship exists between esthetic literacy's importance for work and society due to the fact that—esthetics has proved to play an important role in the workforce given the fact that jobs require an ability to formulate new ideas, or rework on something that already exist to produce works of art, cultural products, beauty, creativity, design and curation [24]. For example, in musical works, acrobatics, poetry, architecture, film making, technological inventions and creations, fashion and designing, animation and multimedia productions. *Finally*, another missing link include having in place inadequate qualities and resources in enhancing *innovation* as a practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods, services and products through knowledge driven actions, realize graduate's entrepreneurial capabilities for improved education system [25]. All identified challenges above, as missing links on the ground must be linked to transforming higher education so as to observe higher education graduate's livelihoods, African countries sustainable development and for global sustainability. However, there is no reliable evidence that there are new strategies to the enhancement of innovation, linked to the *social and cultural* connections. The connections are important to facilitate graduates to learn new things, reinforce old ideas, solve problems and promote creativity as a core aspect of learning at statutory and tertiary levels of education [26, 27].

### **3. Methods**

#### **3.1 Research design**

The study employed a survey research design as a plan, structure, and approach of investigation so as to obtain answers to the study questions or problem [28]. For this purpose, this study utilized an overarching case study strategy that incorporated qualitative research through internet survey approach, face-to-face and telephone interviews to 30 creative entrepreneurs, arts alumni from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam, Bagamoyo College of Arts (TaSUBa), Butimba Teachers' College, Makumira University, Kampala University and other tertiary education institutes in East African region. Much research on innovation and the idea, validity and higher education reflections from the field amid COVID-19 crisis was conducted employing semi-structured interviews and observations to examine alumni reflections and implications from the field amid COVID-19 pandemic from African countries higher education perspectives (e.g. [7, 18, 26, 27, 29]). The study examined participant's reflections through the following key research questions:


The study addressed the questions above through qualitative approach, data collection, and finally, doing the data analysis. Employing a process of reviewing literature on innovation and the idea, validity and higher education reflections from the field amid COVID-19 crisis, this study aimed to extract and identify a broader perception of the participants (alumni) views from the data. The study needed to cast back a light to conducting a serious educational discussion so as to find ways of enhancing educational innovation, closing the gap to reflections from the field, and, looking into ways how to cultivate social capital while at university.

#### **3.2 Participants and procedure**

The researcher being a Tanzanian citizen, who has worked extensively in the field of education, arts, culture and the creative industries, understood well the sector. The situation helped to obtained adequate representation or participants using his extensive networks. Also as an insider observer, the researcher offered an advantage in terms of accessing through his deeper understanding of the relations and respondents' views of their social and real world [30, 31]. Hence, all social research is a form of participant observation because the researcher cannot study the social world without being part of it [3, 32]. As identified above, thirty creative entrepreneurs and arts alumni from statutory and tertiary levels of education in Tanzania and other colleges in East Africa region were interviewed. The interview data were collected through audio recordings, and finally, transcribed. The respondents included who graduated 12–60 months prior to the interview due to the fact that these had adequate experience on their tertiary education.

#### *Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

This social research employed four basic methods of social research: interviews, questionnaires, observation and document for the collection of empirical data focused on getting a clear picture of the issue, an accurate measurement, facts and evidence about the subject matter [33]. Only selected carefully, the small, convenient and best sample as representatives of a large population [34, 35] were sent the internet survey to complete with well-articulated purpose of the survey on the front page and relevant instructions on completing specific sections throughout the survey. The emphasis was on gaining respondents' perspectives, developing in-depth insights of the nature of innovation and sustainability, both for graduate's employability and their professional careers [11, 16, 26, 27]. In investigating the social world, the study used semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions so as to gain the best outcome from the research [33]. The questions were about their current employment position be a freelancer or employed in a public or private sector after higher education—their views on internal efficiency of pedagogy and pedagogical approaches in elementary schools. Hence, linked to their human capital nature and new strategies to the enhancement of educational innovation, their employment situation and how this relates to social and cultural connections [35].

#### **3.3 Data analysis**

This study was designed as empirical research, thus, it was necessary to develop relevant ideas using empirical evidence as a key point in answering the research questions [33]. The data included recordings of the interviews that were transcribed employing Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis (IPA). The data analysis aimed to explore the details linked to how participants made sense of their personal and social world [36]. The transcription was thematically analyzed so as to enable the study to make connections between graduates, creative entrepreneurs and arts alumni views. The analysis allowed clustering of the themes and continuing the analysis with other rich and unanticipated related cases [37] pertaining to graduates' social capital, educational innovation and implications beyond teaching and learning to observe graduate's employability and higher education as a fulcrum of knowledge based learning.

#### **4. Research findings**

The results reflect emergent themes respondents (alumni and creative entrepreneurs) considered worth paying attention to during their studies. Key themes included enhancing educational innovation so as to overcome pressing pedagogy and pedagogical challenges, cultivating their human and social capital or relations as a career of knowledge and a way to boost their competence and talent related skills. More specifically, was the formulation of career networks while at university and beyond so as to facilitate them to keep on learning new things, practicing and reinforcing old ideas, solving problems, being creative and innovative, and, be able to make decisions [6]. Another thematic area was an inclusion of career embeddedness or job embedded professional learning. Eventually, alumni identified the social undermining behavioral challenge.

#### **4.1 Enhanced educational innovation**

Having analyzed the data, a key theme emerged was having in place enhanced educational innovation. Alumni emphasized on policy and educational frameworks reform for modernization of education, overcome pedagogy and pedagogical challenges, focused on the internationalization of higher education as a global issue in favor of the 2030 Agenda for development and beyond. Local initiatives (African countries in specific) was their emphasis so to improve the effectiveness in educational management, having strategic frameworks for African cooperation through joint venturing in education and training with abroad. An emphasis was on changes in policies related with curricula, teacher's ability, accountability and institution administration and management. Hence, new ideas, need to be generated and converted into useful outcomes for graduate's knowledge and skills enhancement, employability, decent jobs promotion and contribution to economic growth.

Lecturers or teacher's ability in some higher education institutions was a feature of some respondents' views in the study. The following sad story from the data describes the need to have competent teachers so as to make students graduate with skills and knowledge in their careers.

*"I have a good example of what happened recently to Law School of Tanzania students results in October, 2022. Reports did show an alarming rate of failure to students studying to become advocates. According to the bar exam results, only 26 students, equivalent to 4.1 percent passed, while 342 were required to re-sit for some exams… At the same time 265 students, equivalent to 41.9 were disqualified. Unfortunately, the college administration did thrown blames to their former universities for the poor preparations of students in their degrees… in my opinion, I agree to what the Law school administration said… the poor results for the Law School of Tanzania graduates were due to the incapable teachers/lecturers in their former universities and lack of adequate practical work. Nevertheless, one of the key qualities of a teacher is to make sure that his students succeed with knowledge and skills relevant in their fields of study"* **L2.**

Taken together, the above statement from the data and the following (below) quotation from the interview, reflect the feeling of the majority of participants of the study:

*"With the globalization – Africa higher education system should never allow themselves to be swept away and lose their cultural heritage. Let young people as graduates be exposed to their cultural heritage to enable them to be creative and innovative so as to contribute to their global development"* **F 5***.*

In short the data above, show that the internationalization of higher education has to be based on a conceptual framework. In clarification, the conceptual framework has to stand as a representation of the relationships the African society expects to see between higher education system and balancing young graduate's creative talents vis-à-vis the value of cultural heritage in the global higher education community all in favor of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and beyond.

Similar examples were outlined by other graduates, highlighting the overcoming pressing pedagogy and pedagogical challenges. As **E3** said regarding pedagogical challenges: "*most candidates who graduate from some universities in Tanzania and in some African countries lack requisite academic competence and practical training, at any rate, lecturers specialized in theories need not to be allocated to teach students in higher learning institutions"* While, respondent **H8**, describes the situation as follows:

*Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

*"Ok, my argument is based on policy and educational frameworks modernization. What I would like to refer to is, a five-year Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) project in Tanzania through the World Bank support. The project's main objective is to increase enrolment, improve the training quality and labour market relevant to degree programs. However, I think we have a lesson to learn with reference to global disruption to higher education systems created by the COVID-19 in particular... responding to the challenges, policy makers in Tanzania and East Africa region have got to go back to the drawing board and discuss about ways to reshape ideas and practices in higher education by giving priority to cultural, creative industries and creative economy be at the heart of higher education policy due to its multiple-benefits" H***8.**

The respondents' views reflect what they believe is happening on the ground compared to what should happen as well stipulated by UNESCO that higher education has to be based from a human rights perspective. Thus, higher education must be built on a framework for sustainable development linked to Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 4 that: "respect for life and human dignity, equal rights, social justice, cultural diversity, international solidarity and shared responsibility for a sustainable future" [38].

#### **4.2 Cultivating human and social capital**

Multiple creative entrepreneurs and alumni mentioned the importance of cultivating human and social capital, creativity, competence, knowledge and talent related skills while at university. **M4** expressed about her passion as a pathway to literacy and employment as follows: *"being at school, from secondary to college level, my early interest in music developed into a feeling and memory of interest I had for a very long time…that one day to become an outstanding musician…thanks "God" after pursuing my degree in Music, I am now self-employed. I think developing talents, skills, knowledge and experience possessed by an individual is of great value not only to an individual but the entire society"* **C9** emphasized the importance of cultivating networks of relations between people, groups and entities while at university so as to remain as a social investment after graduation and in times of uncertainty and danger as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel and food shortage due to climate change. The following comment expounds on that initiative: *"I think of social capital as links, interacts undertaken in a large market place as I experience…me as an IT expert through WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram during the COVID-19 crisis… I managed to train women creative entrepreneurs how to link or market their products through the internet, sharing their values and understandings, building trust to each other, and eventually, make them work together"* **T6** encourages on the importance of enhancing proactive behavior in the workplace as an attribute of social capital for a greater educational achievement, improved employment outcomes and observance of a well-developed sense of mutual trust. *"I believe proactive behaviour in the workplace can help workers to identify and solve challenges before they occur …it can help them to think out of the box by planning and preparing for upcoming tasks while bearing in mind what to do to others in need of their help…certainly this is one of the most valuable thing someone can have…it builds trust".*

In interpreting the findings, there are similarities between the attitude expressed by most respondents on human and social capital cultivation. However, the loss of *human capital* (skills, knowledge and experience) embodied in an individual graduate and *social capital* (being the networks of relationships among graduates who live and work in a particular field) were a feature of most respondents' views. The comments

and information collected from participants show that higher education system changes in (i.e. policies, curriculum, norms, structures, pedagogy and pedagogical strategies) must be made as far as modernization of higher education is concerned. This will arguably equip graduates with the knowledge and skills for their employability, livelihoods, economic, lifelong learning and contribution to African countries and global education sustainable development. In clarification, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as well stipulated by UNESCO means:

"integrating key sustainable development issues such as climate change, disaster risk reduction and biodiversity into teaching and learning… applying participatory teaching and learning methods to empower learners to take action for sustainable development… building the capacity of policy-makers and educators to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to address the social, environmental and economic challenges of the 21st century" [39]. In multiple cases, respondents prescribed that through the curriculum the integration of cultural heritage can effectively contribute to education for sustainable development. **F7** said, *"the integration of culture in the teaching and learning profile has to start from primary level, secondary schools to University level so as to nurture talents, creativity and innovation… thus, motivate graduates to meet their dreams or their passion in the labour market attained. Hopefully, this will reduce the unemployment challenge and influx of graduates into African big cities with their certificates in search of jobs within the public sector"* However, a lack of funding, start-up finance or capital for expansion of their businesses as freelancers (to graduates) in the arts, cultural and creative industries, as well as marketing of their products due to the monopolization of international markets by a few multinationals has been alumni feeling and a challenge faced by the sector across African countries. In a broader perspective this analysis from the qualitative data suggests: *"Yeah, policy makers, governments and private sector in African countries need to come-up with plans of financing the cultural and creative industries so as to help creative entrepreneurs and graduates from the sector fulfil their desire for better lives,… stimulate employment within the creative sector and contribution to sustainable development through creative economy…rather than the sector remaining poorly resourced and depending on foreign financial support"* **G2**.

In his classic critique, Canclini describes the above stipulated case as follows: "instead of the death of traditional cultural forms, we now discover that tradition is in transition, and articulated to modern processes. Reconversion prolongs their existence. To reconvert cultural capital means to transfer symbolic patrimony from one site to another in order to converse it, increase its yield, and better the position of those who practice it" [40].

#### **4.3 Career networks and new information technology**

The results of the study did show that graduates as respondents across diverse programs agreed in principle the formulation of career networks while at university and beyond. They also mentioned embarking on new information technology as a way towards the enhancement of social relations as career of knowledge and a step that facilitate them to keep on learning, practising new things and reinforcing traditional cultural heritage elements. *"I think, in order to survive in our creative jobs, its high time for us to give fresh impetus to e-commerce channels and social media platforms use so as to connect us with audiences and consumers … We need to find new ways to supplement our income since Coronavirus pandemic has decimated our creative products income stream*" **J4.**

*Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

Creative business graduates describe that Information Technology (IT) and digital revolution have been to a great deal enablers of development. "*When being at the University, I used to see my colleagues networking through WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter – I couldn't really see a need of joining the social media platforms. Then, when I graduated, and specifically, in the middle of COVID-19 crisis and lockdown, I came to realise the usefulness of developing networks and adopting digital strategies…use of e-commerce in marketing our organization's creative products, goods and services…thanks, technology and digital revolution have opened a new window for graduates and creative entrepreneurs to go digital*" **P1.** Creative entrepreneurs and business graduates emphasized the value of digital literacy and inclusion of new Information Technology (IT) in the learning and teaching environment. Many respondents did suggest that the inclusion of digital literacy studies, should be from kindergarten schools to university level so as to enhance pedagogy and pedagogical approaches, literacy and skills needed in the labour market and modern education system. Evidently, the quotation below corroborate what graduates emphasized above:

*"…the world is changing quickly, and the uses of new Information Technology (IT) do prepare students for more connected interactions within the learning environment and teaching profession" [41].*

When commenting about the learning experiences at university, graduates illustrated their views with stories of their own experiences in the field when undertaking a range of internships, project courses and formal placements as follows: *"in undertaking my Performing and Fine Arts Degree, the internship help me to gain experience also satisfy the requirements for the qualification…I got to see a theatrical production process and the conversion of a dramatic text into a theatrical performance is done through an inclusion of a diverse range of art forms from acting, directing, production, lighting stage props, costume design, back ground music and back stage support"* **P3**. Again, most respondents described the issue as follows. **E6** said, "*In my Engineering degree… my course project got me to see how different engineering and technical solutions are made, for example, a plan for a structure, calculations for designs of structures, machinery and equipment and practical implementation related to regulations of construction/production*".

The above data analysis from respondents are in sympathy with a recent investment made by HEVA Fund, the first dedicated East Africa Creative Business Fund, a business fund that supports the region's economy; CCI growth dynamics and knowledge facility for creative industries. It underscored the financial impact of COVID-19 and supported the transition to low-touch and digital capabilities on creative businesses in the East African region [42]. Similarly, the data analysis from graduates reflect Cunningham et al. comment as put in the following extract: "the harnessing of creativity brings with it a potential of new wealth creation, the cultivation of local talent and the creation of creative capital, the development of new export markets, significant multiplier effects throughout the broader economy, the utilization of information-communication technologies and increased competitiveness in an increasingly global economy" [43].

#### **4.4 Job embedded professional learning**

This book chapter argues that a marked change in form, nature and appearance of a graduate is a product of a two-way traffic. Hence, influenced strongly by a teacher's learning that is grounded in his day-to-day teaching practice, having in place an

effective communicative instructional interaction in the entire education process, and student's critical and self-reflection, open learning by throwing light on the content of the core curriculum [44]. In providing a reasonable argument for the notion of a twoway traffic between vocational education and training and higher education, Harris et al. continue by saying:

*"In a society committed to lifelong learning, and with an economy requiring a knowledgeable, skilled, flexible and adaptable labour force, it is essential that there are clear and easy pathways between the vocational education and training (VET) and higher education sectors for reasons of equity and efficiency" [45].*

Commenting on the learning and teaching as a two-way traffic, most respondents made these observations:

*"I think, the transformation of a trainee into the learning environment, is influenced strongly by the ability of her or his teacher in the entire learning and teaching environment…and activities that are included so as to enhance instructional practices to improving student's knowledge, skills and sociological perspectives all focused on the learner's core curriculum"* **B10.**

*"My feeling is that the governments in African countries must be bold on… I mean, must discourage the act of many teachers conducting tutoring in addition to regular school instructions. It is through this many students from poor families who can't afford the tuition fee are half baked or badly taught simply because students are taught less during the normal school hours so as to increase demand for the tuition… Consequently, as observed recently to the failure of many Law School students in Tanzania, one of the reasons could certainly be that!"* **L9.**

The qualitative unit of analysis and the respondents' views above, interprets the notion and context behind a clear definition of the phrase "job embedded professional learning". Hence, always the intent of a teacher in the teaching and learning environment or pedagogical implications should be that of improving student's learning as stipulated in the respective educational policy and core curriculum. Again, the respondent's feeling in the quotations above are in agreement with those of other related studies which showed, after-school tutoring in African and developing countries is an incentive to teach badly [44–46].

#### **4.5 Social undermining behavioral challenge**

Multiple creative entrepreneurs and alumni in the field mentioned the social undermining behavior as a challenge they do experience in their careers that hinder their job success, their reputation and positive relationships. **P3** said *"during my internship, I worked with a mentor who bad-mouthed me to the company boss… that attitude of saying bad things about me ruined my reputation and image but now in my new work station… I enjoy… things have changed"* Similarly, some graduates lamented that social undermining behavior at work places distorts one's creativity and innovative spirit as a crucial mind-set that actively seeks change to the continuing success of an individual or an organization. *"I think social undermining behaviour is probably one of the most crucial aspect that prevents someone or something from doing something… it restrains one's creativity at a place of work"* **G7.** Others noted the value of nurturing

*Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

talents, abilities, creativity and developing capabilities for sustainable change in the current changing business market characterized by competition. Graduates went further by lamenting that bad-mouthing hinders worker's success due to the fact that the attitude keep job-related frustrations, and eventually, causes workers to suffer both a sociological and epistemological undermining. **M5** emphasized, *"We must get rid of the patriarchal system of despising creative artists, especially, female musicians, fine artists, actresses and others against men…this situation of saying bad things hurts them and sets them back in their career development".*

A change in behavior and attitude was the main concept and a feature of most respondents' view referred to above. The respondents' comments, take a broad view and incorporate factors that are hard to eliminate in a social context because they are features that affect an individual person's behavior, interpersonal factors, attitude, ability, values and motivations. However, such statements are in sympathy with those of Khan et al. based on social undermining and employee's creativity: "our study results indicated a significant negative association between social undermining and employee's creativity, while serial mediation analysis showed that interpersonal distrust and knowledge hiding partially mediated the above linkage" [47].

#### **5. Serious educational discussion and its implications**

The findings in this study highlight several implications from the creative entrepreneurs and alumni reflections in connection to a need for enhancing innovation as far as the idea, validity and higher education reflections from the field amid COVID-19 crisis are concerned. The findings as well stipulated above, support a need for conducting a serious educational discussion. Hence, neither recognized framework established nor innovative strategies are considered beyond teaching and learning to observe higher education as a fulcrum of knowledge based learning in African higher education system. Higher education as a central point institution (a shaft on which a mechanism turns or fulcrum) can be termed as an equilibrium of a public policy in the "learning profiles and achievement" [48].

In clarification, the term learning profile and achievement summarize a range of factors. These include but are not restricted to *individual development and characteristics or intelligence, gender and culture* as issues to be considered or given priority in the serious educational discussion and its implications in the African context. Furthermore, this chapter argues that framework establishment has to retrieve the designing of learning experiences premised behind intelligence preferences, and, special consideration to be put on differentiated learning styles or approaches. Hence, study reports show that students learn in different ways and the teaching and learning would be more effective if students could explore content in ways that work best for them [48]. In that context, a special attention in the student's learning must be paid in the *content of the curriculum* and the entire *respective educational process* through knowledge based learning. I mean, all that can occur through the "learning paradigm" as the students' active role in learning and her or his purpose of learning as opposed to "instruction paradigm" (learning and teaching as a two-way traffic) all which have proved to be strong motivators for students. This chapter suggests the following to be taken on board so as to realize a genuine purpose of the 21st Century Education Framework in the African context:

*Firstly***, Human Capital:** As viewed by graduates and confirmed by the findings above, there is a need to transform the traditional education system, formulas and

structure towards raising the level of "*personalization"* in education for graduate's employability, livelihoods and global development (emotional and cognitive). Therefore, this chapter acknowledges that the model or education framework has to be for guidance, insight and inspiration based on access, attention and specialization embedded in the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual. As a result, make each and every graduate learn to the highest, deepest, and broader possible levels so as to accommodate the individual intelligence in favor of his or her expectations, needs, gift or talent, experience, preferences, personal traits and knowledge level [49].

*Secondly***, new Information Technology (IT):** study reports and the findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic forced many governments to shift their instructions to e-learning or virtual learning modalities. However, many students in African countries lacked regular access to the internet that could allow them to participate fully into their learning environment [38, 39, 41]. Again, creative entrepreneurs and alumni interviewed confirmed that during COVID-19 crisis and the lock down enhanced their use of e*-commerce business* (the buying and selling of their creative goods or services using the internet, including the transferring of money and data to execute their transactions). In that context, digital literacy competencies (i.e. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) literacy, media literacy) are very essential skills or supportive systems that students need so as to succeed in their work, lives, businesses and sustainable development.

*Thirdly***, Social Capital**: Despite the fact that the term "social capital" is a complex phenomenon as viewed by many respondents, the data of analysis managed to paintout a picture of social capital as networks of relationships among people who live and work together and enables them to function effectively [38, 39]. Hence, the findings did show how the established networks helped them to create and facilitate, for example, student-industry relationships through internships, business opportunities and program showcase events like: festivals, exhibitions, competitions and awards, research, education and training programs effectively. This chapter suggests that the inclusion of social capital component in the learning profile is particularly useful for students to cultivate credibility, make big bets on transformational ideas, technology and social wellbeing, especially, for those who are searching for opportunities beyond their boundaries of work, society, area of study and community [40].

#### **6. Conclusion**

This book chapter has focused on the idea, validity and higher education reflections from the field amid COVID-19 crisis in African countries. It has articulated ways that are linked to innovation, changes in the core curriculum and learning styles, developing education for creativity focused on producing creative learners in higher education. The chapter has discussed, emphasized and dwelt on higher education beyond instructional activities. How can higher education be observed as a process that can help an individual to acquire knowledge and skills necessary for graduates to adapt to the environment socially, politically and economically at the same time realizing their full potential or intelligence? (emotional and cognitive).

This chapter has outlined why there is a need of conducting a serious higher education discussion and its implications. It has painted why higher education is a real part of the globalization process and embodiment practice that encompasses the interaction of one's body, thoughts and actions in learning as a lifelong process.

#### *Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

Additionally, this book chapter has suggested and outlined some recommendations. It has pointed out why there is a need of having in place a recognized framework as a guide with key issues to be taken on board in the serious higher education discussion, and, remain as strong motivators for students. These motivators include but are not restricted to:

• Prioritizing of *"human capital*" so as to designate traits, qualities or nurturing a talent a student has that can make him or her unique, determine one's effectiveness and sustainability for a job, when paired with knowledge and skill learned through experience. Thus, priority has to be put on the enhancement of the level of "personalization" in education for graduate's employability, livelihoods and global development.


### **Table 1.**

*Participants.*


One implication of the motivators above as new codes of practice for improving the situation, policies for the enhancement of creativity and higher education policy reforms need to be taken into account. This chapter has argued that the best longterm option to change the educational process and classroom perspectives in higher education for graduates' employability and economic development is to conduct a serious educational discussion. Though difficult to achieve in the African context, it is essential to ensuring a lifelong learning and educational innovation is observed by cultivating graduates' social capital while at university (**Table 1**).

### **Author details**

Charles Enock Mulimba Ruyembe Karibu Cultural Contact (KCC) an NGO, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

\*Address all correspondence to: cruyembe@yahoo.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Enhancing Innovation: The Idea, Validity and Higher Education Reflections from the Field… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109379*

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#### **Chapter 10**

## Perspective Chapter: Higher Education Challenges

*Juan Sebastián Vergara Palma*

#### **Abstract**

One of the main challenges that current higher education faces is aspiring to a coherent educational formation in a society that is in permanent change. This has direct implications for how a proposal consistent with the demands and needs of the world of work is built and how it innovates as it progresses. Flexibility and contextualization are two fundamental axes when facing the challenge of current higher education. This allows students to present themselves in a dynamic world that is in permanent change. This means that, in turn, the academic offer must, necessarily, diversify, attentive to the rapid changes in the environment. Therefore, offering a wide variety of options gives students a more realistic and achievable possibility of connecting with the world of work. In this sense, it is important to promote the empowerment of students in the face of their professional development within their university educational path.

**Keywords:** curriculum, flexibility, contextualization, innovation, autonomy

#### **1. Introduction**

This chapter is the result of a critical reflection regarding the observed phenomena associated with current circumstances, regarding the tension between higher education, professional training and globalization. This tension is happening in various fields and at different levels within a multifactorial framework, with respect to the ways in which the training of subjects is developed in the university and how this tries to sustain an integral formation of the subject, relevant to the territory and consistent with the training needs of society. For this, topics such as the curriculum, the relationship education and context, innovation and education and subject are developed.

The purpose of this chapter is to reveal the challenges faced by higher education in a context dominated by the information society, by the world of employability and by the internationalization of the economy through large transnational conglomerates. This insight shows the powerful influence that these factors condition, in an ostensible and sustained way, higher education in different countries. These conditions hinder the processes of change in higher education, as well as the opportunity to consider the perspective of the actors themselves of the educational task.

One of the problems raised in the field of tertiary education—which is of great relevance—is not having considered in their approaches the multidimensional nature of the training of university students by focusing on certain edges without examining the entire prism. There exist many factors that affect a successful, quality education. In this sense, the decisions made in curricular planning might be filtered by good intentions, but, nevertheless, they do not delve into contextual aspects that, when it comes to materializing in a project, its one-dimensional nature becomes evident. In the same line, the problem of complex, multidimensional reality is also crossed, in which the subject-student is immersed, who permanently interacts with the social environment and in a certain historical moment.

Additionally, we find ourselves in a struggle of forces between professional training and disciplinary training as one tries to gain ground over the other. Disciplinary training is a desire of the institution, whereas a profession is a demand of our society. The question is: where are the needs of the students themselves? Are the needs of society and the particular needs of students both equivalent?

The needs of civil society versus the individual needs of each subject—understood as a student—can be contradictory, in the sense that the needs of civil society are aimed at resolving problems or conflicts that concern them with immediacy, meaning the demanded knowledge makes sense to the extent that it is useful for something. Instead, there is the assumption that the needs of the students go beyond the utilitarian character that is assigned to knowledge from the perspective of modernity. This will translate into a confrontation between the external and forced need imposed by society versus the internal need of the subject.

Accordingly, the needs of the students could be satisfied to the extent that their expectations can be specified, in an educational project coherent with what the students require, not from the perspective of the desire of the institution, but from the very needs of the students, what one is lacking and what is not there yet, but is being pursued. Following the same idea, it would be necessary to assume that it is about a need for knowledge beyond the utilitarian and that it corresponds to something that they do not necessarily know what it is, but that it is needed. To precisely meet these expectations, the university should pay attention and attend to these needs and sow fertile ground to cultivate them. What does this mean? That said ground should be a space for the discovery, by the students, of that something needed that must be discovered by themselves.

The needs of the subjects. It seems that the needs of the students that have been previously raised go into the idea of a thirst for knowledge and the appreciation of knowledge for the sake of it. Given the insecurity or indeterminacy of what the student is looking for and is not yet aware of, it is necessary to implement a broad training, with a holistic perspective, which allows students to develop fully and that promotes autonomy along the lines of Kant. Following this idea, it is not a transferral but rather a process that extracts what they bring from the base, simply because of their human condition. For this, it is essential to have an educational project that serves as a catalyst, in the sense that it favours the learning process of the students and, consequently, favours the emergence of their potentialities. Said, in other words, that it gives space for intuition development, expectations and, in general terms, those particular needs.

On the other hand, from the perspective of the university institution, there is an itch to impart, in an academic zeal, certain things moved by desire, as opposed to the needs of those who are educated, regardless of whether or not these needs are equivalent to civil society needs. Another issue is that these needs arise at a fixed historical

#### *Perspective Chapter: Higher Education Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109318*

moment, while the university system, for the most part, has gradually become stagnant in already obsolete patterns. But not only the patterns are obsolete, but also the knowledge has rapid obsolescence, which implies a challenge on different levels.

The institution in its guarantor role—as it sees itself, and with an effort to try to control all variables, promotes and projects a graduation profile where they converge all those elements that enable or ensure success in terms of the demands of civil society, but which, however, in the course of the implementation of the said profile, establish a tension with the students who follow this formative path. Indeed, the desire on the part of the institution to train in the sciences, arts or humanities with a basic disciplinary mastery and investigative adequacy does not allow us to glimpse what is behind the needs of the students in terms of their expectations. These are coupled with a certain historical moment, different from the times with which the university is familiarized. This means that when an educational project is proposed, at the moment of its implementation, there is a gap in terms of that historical moment, a product of the abrupt and inexorable passage of time. In this sense, innovation should be attentive to permanent changes and a dynamic environment. However, even so, there is another point to consider, referring to the motivations that students bring: the cultural capital that is brought along themselves. Many times, the needs are postponed due to the fulfilment of the desire of the institution, which frustrates the formative assessment. And this, produced by a curricular decontextualization does not consider aspects of the culture of the students nor the dynamic character that it has, is a problem relative to space and time.

The question is whether or not there is awareness of the tension that has historically occurred between desire and need, understood as a true need, without pre-existing, along the lines of Ortega and Gasset, valuing knowledge, without questioning whether it is useful or not.

#### **2. The curricular issue**

Going to the specifically curricular field, one of the main obstacles that appear in the formative itinerary of students in current higher education is the rigid curriculum, focused on content, which poses a strong tension facing a society that is in permanent change, which forces them to study subjects that do not contribute much to further development according to their interests. This implies a sustained drop in motivation. This can be seen reflected in the low attendance at certain subjects in the classrooms and, consequently, a decline in academic performance. This phenomenon can be understood by a hyper-specialization of knowledge, which makes knowledge decrease and the holistic perspective of phenomena, things and the object of study in question lost. It comes down to a one-dimensional perspective. Indeed, fragmented knowledge does not allow for a complete understanding of the whole and, therefore, makes each of the components on which the study focuses lose its meaning by not having in view the globality of a fact, an object or a certain phenomenon. According to this, the students get lost in an endless maze, trying to make sense so as not to get lost in a sea of split, disjointed, disintegrated information. With all of the above, the students suffer a loss of sense of things, which demotivates them and forces them to select only what is useful. Certainly, the obstacle produced by a rigid curricular structure as a formative proposal against the impulse that the subject brings is not to be taken lightly, nor is the friction of spontaneity against social coercion. For this same

reason, the subjects as students fall into a kind of apparent utilitarianism, moved by exogenous factors, not finding meaning and having to navigate through the mist to try to rescue some meaning.

The challenge, from the curricular point of view, has to do with territorial knowledge, of context, in which a certain perspective or curricular theory makes sense to the extent that it is capable of reading that particular reality and, accordingly, generating a specific educational intervention for that context. In such a way that *'it is impossible to interpret the curriculum and understand the curricular theories outside the context from which they come'* [1].

However, whatever the vision or curricular perspective that supports a certain educational model loses its irradiation in the praxis if the teachers are not aligned with the theoretical concept that underlies the model since they are in charge of operationalizing the curriculum in the classroom. In the same way, if the actors that participate in the learning-teaching process have not been summoned to a kind of 'social construction' of the educational model, it does not represent something significant for themselves either. This has a direct impact on the curricular implementation stage, in terms of little or no symbolic appropriation of the model by the teaching staff.

The critical paradigm, circumscribed in a historical moment in which apparently, modernism has not yet settled, proposes the curriculum as a deliberative construct committed to the emancipation of the subject. In this sense, the intersubjective relationship of the individual with others and with the environment in which it is possible to intervene from reflective ideological criticism stands out. Indeed, '*critical theory implies dialectical reasoning, has emancipatory interest and applies ideological criticism'* [1]. In this regard, [1] points out that *'the critical vision of the curriculum must insist on analysing the relationships of each subject with himself and with his world, generating new knowledge by deepening these interrelationships'.*

Following this idea and from phenomenology, the reality is understood as a mental construction, so it is necessary to reveal the thought of the other, but on their terms, from the subjective. For this reason, the critical paradigm needs the interaction of the actors who move and promote the construction of the curriculum, that is, teachers, students, authorities, administrative staff and teaching support; In short, it requires the participation of the entire educational community.

Having a clear reading of the complex reality in which we live implies going from the manifested or evident to the subjacent, as if to give a structure, in the line of Levi-Strauss, to the prevailing socio-symbolic chaos. Therefore, this issue is not alien to the epistemological assumptions with which a curricular proposal is built, specifically regarding the critical paradigm.

Likewise, it is important to point out that, from this critical perspective, the individual is considered a historically conditioned subject and, as a historical subject, is capable of transforming reality. In other words, the emancipatory character that this paradigm promotes is nothing more than the possibility of transforming reality to unlock those relations of power and domination and, with this, reveal the naturalized to denature it; to make visible what has been hidden.

Within this framework, the role of the teacher is essential because it ceases to be an executor of prescriptive grounds; *'The teacher is self-critical with curricular theories and practices'* [1]. In the same way, the teacher-student relationship replaces the stagnant nature of the vertical relationship with a horizontal relationship, allowing participation and collaboration in pedagogical practice, among the main actors in the educational process, towards, in a teleological sense, a possible transformation of reality.

#### *Perspective Chapter: Higher Education Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109318*

On the other hand, Lyotard [2] warns that the university has lost its legitimacy visà-vis society since knowledge no longer has an end in itself, which is why it has taken on a rather functional character, a characteristic feature of the postmodern condition for these institutions. There is a growing concern about education for employability based on job instability. Given this scenario, the challenge under these conditions seems to be even greater, and along these lines, the production of knowledge is preferable over its transmission. The bet is on interdisciplinarity, teamwork and data management, that is, information, establishing networks for the production of new knowledge. Naturally, these issues should be at the forefront of current curricular planning.

On another note, the issue of curricular flexibility is in line with the autonomy of the students in the sense that they can select their route with structural conditions that allow it. Therefore, it is important *'…as well the need to foster flexibility in the curricular structure of training programs with the purpose to foster and promote opportunities for student mobility, and transfers between programs and institutions, and to offer training routes for students according to their interests, expectations, and academic needs'* [3].

Along the same lines, the structure of training cycles, the system of transferable credits and a modular learning system which organizes knowledge are used. '*The structure of the studies must allow students (…) to develop their curricular itinerary, which allows them to make certain changes in studies, the passage from some phases to others of the same or from certain sections to others within the same phase, all within the framework of a precise and reduced number of conditions. The development of these possibilities requires the conversion of the studies to the credit scheme, as a procedure that measures the teachings received and that facilitates mobility between them'* (Bricall, 2000, Chapter III, quoted at the bottom of the page in Giraldo & Campo [3]).

In summary, curricular flexibility is understood as the opportunities that students have to take courses or carry out curricular activities that allow them to specialize, update or deepen the line they need to develop. Consequently, the curricular itineraries must be contextualized and diversified in terms of their structure, to the extent that they are capable of responding to the expectations and intentions of the applicants, that is, the interest groups. Regardless of the foregoing, certain activities that allow linking with the environment should be built into a curriculum, such as the socalled 'Practicum'. Without going into further detail, it can be said that the 'Practicum' is understood as a curricular component that is carried out outside the institution ('out-door') and that it constitutes an implement that blends academic learning with experience in workplaces (Zabalza [4]). That is a learning device that is linked to the work environment, which allows students to face the world of work in advance and the possibility of mobilizing a series of cognitive, procedural and attitudinal resources to carry out their work in context. The integration of theoretical and practical knowledge that students must resort to and, above all, the 'in situ' experience is highlighted, an aspect that cannot be developed within the institution. Regardless of the above, there is a very important component from the student's perspective: the emotion of the experience, which, without a doubt, substantially favours learning.

#### **3. Education and context**

In the first place, it should be noted that higher education is in a complex scenario as it struggles in a globalized world. This phenomenon has brought with it three key conditions that have revolutionized the way of approaching teaching in universities.

The information society, employability and the internationalization of the economy. This has also had an impact on higher education, in terms of the concept of internationalization, given that 'The increasing tendency to internationalize training in higher education is a reflection of the impacts of globalization in the educational field, whose actions are the product of forces beyond the educational institutions themselves, those that intend to operate under common codes that allow an equivalent certification and that, in turn, allow dialogue with standardized forms of knowledge appropriation' [5].

The challenge is how to appease the design of an educational proposal around a model that contains the vision and mission of a particular higher education institution, with a complex multidimensional reality. In effect, a certain educational model will always be permeated by the institutional seal and that imprint is led by the biases that the same institution poses. These biases affect curricular decisions, which can be of spatial contextual order, in the sense of territory, political, cultural, economic, technological, dogmatic, religious, philosophical, etc. Continuing with this idea, the educational model is stressed with the contextual demands that society imposes on higher education and is stressed, in turn, by the subjects-students who also have their demands.

Likewise, it must be considered that the demands of civil society are biased by a certain economic paradigm that seeks to increasingly connect education with the market.

From this comes the concept of utilitarianism, in which neoliberal thought promotes education to ensure that good jobs will provide the individuals with a good income. In this sense, knowledge is valid if it is useful for something, in this case, human well-being and material comfort. But it seems that well-being alone is not enough, since the concept of happiness, under this logic, would be determined by the maximization of utilities.

It is pernicious to permeate these ideas that hinder the ideal of knowledge in all its complexity: *'The idea that society demands a rather technical training from the university is counterproductive in the sense that the generation of knowledge must promote epistemic progress and not the fragmentation of it, reducing all knowledge to knowledge-oriented towards the instrumental, based on employability'* [6].

On the other hand, it would seem that the demands of civil society would suffice to be covered by a teaching of the 'Unterricht' type than the one proposed from the humanist assumption by the public university, which would be more in line with the 'Bildung' type, a much more comprehensive training that aims to access the best of the subject [7], or better yet, that aims to make the best of it "emerge".

Certainly, the humanist ideal from a broad perspective of the concept goes far beyond the satisfaction of the utilitarian needs of the civic world, highlighting the value of knowledge based on the transcendental dimension of the human being, in a Kantian sense.

Likewise, it seems that the demands or training needs of civil society become an idea of teaching that should have a functional nature, which can confuse and induce erratic actions to the extent that they are driven by the influence of the context. This is for trying to meet these demands.

Therefore, the implications of the demands of the context stress the ontology and epistemology of the concepts that underlie the ideas and approaches that support educational policies. In this sense, a bidirectional relationship between State and context is not noticed, but rather, it seems an incessant harassment of the environment towards education to conquer the world of work.

*Perspective Chapter: Higher Education Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109318*

The point is to point out these hostilities that public education is facing, especially by state universities, whose discrepancies are observed *'as part of a set of phenomena that stress the borders between "the being" of a university that declares itself deeply humanist and the "should be" that society poses, according to its interests, permeated by concepts such as functional and efficient'* [6].

Either education has permeated so much or maybe is the economy that has spread vastly that hybrid concepts such as 'Knowledge Management' arise, from which knowledge becomes a more competitive and dynamic knowledge economy, a source of wealth creation, cooperation and specialization, and in the practice of knowledge management [8] (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/lis1\_ en.htm); a kind of knowledge economy, influenced by the business and industrial world. This is the scenario in which individuals operate and with which they interact. This, without a doubt, distances itself from the founding principles of education for the transformation of the human being and for the transformation of the world, not in economic or production terms, but rather, in terms of the transcendence of the human being, in the idea of the rescue of the qualities inherent to the subject and in the conscience of himself and society as a whole.

#### **4. The innovation**

Faced with the complex reality, there are not many alternatives to be able to act by the institutional seals nor at the same time in the face of social demands, whose demands, in turn, are conditioned by certain paradigms that force certain ways of acting in the university scene. What is perceived as an effective action is, without a doubt, facing the current challenges, revealing what is hidden by the ideological force that seeks to put the economy above education. For this, it is necessary to give new meaning to those aspects that can contribute to the design strategies and implementation of training plans for innovation. Said process, that of innovation, should be understood as the application of the academy in social practice, given that deep knowledge of social dynamics can generate new perspectives that can better tune in with educational needs and proposals.

The innovation process is understood or should be understood, as a kind of ethnographic knowledge in which those called to formulate an innovation project must necessarily immerse themselves in the culture and society in which they intend to intervene. Rescuing the culture understood as a reference of a patrimonial identity allows a direct link with the environment and, consequently, modelling a proposal consistent with the needs of the environment. In this sense, it is imperative to have strategies and thus respond and commit to the demands and training needs of referents and interest groups, understood as those who pursue a profession.

In an innovation, various actors participate as part of an educational community. In it, teachers must be involved with special emphasis, requiring authorization to generate a relevant, viable, coherent, systematic and argued curricular proposal for professional and disciplinary training in the university space, which can be reflected, deliberated and shared. For this, common spaces for discussion and participation are required, horizontally among all those who make up the community, teachers and students, who must be willing to cultural change in the community itself. This supposes a cultural change within the educational communities. Among many aspects, in light of the results of the analysis and the findings of the immersion in the socio-cultural environment and its corresponding understanding of the territory in its complexity, a training

plan that contemplates, among other things, should be discussed. The sequence of achievements, the articulation of knowledge and the progression of learning.

The demands that are imposed on a certain innovation are stressed by the urgency with which the training needs are demanded. It is not possible to innovate if it is not subjected to a rigorous, exhaustive process of much reflection and debate, which implies a considerable investment of time. At the same time, rapid progress is being made to such an extent that the changes that were useful for one historical moment are no longer so for another. And this is because the needs and demands of civil society have an immediate value, which, probably, in two or three more years, said knowledge is no longer useful since the needs are changing. Consequently, the idea of demanded knowledge is in line with the instrumental, of what is useful immediately. By this, it seems that this idea of the utilitarianism of knowledge has been naturalized at different levels, both in what the subjects-students pursue and in the approaches to innovation and curricular redesign by higher education institutions. If the wording of the graduate profiles jealously guards the imprint of the institution, they also reveal a kind of contract that ensures that the training declared therein will 'do' for the students for their future professional development. The idea is how the university builds a counter-hegemonic proposal from cultural identity, understood as the collective narrative that individuals are capable of building. In this proposal, of an educational nature, cross-cutting aspects such as gender equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination must be present, as well as the deontological principles of profession, social responsibility and citizenhood.

Regardless, for the effects of an innovation that exceeds the border conditions posed by instrumental rationality, it is necessary to collect relevant information from the subjects themselves who participate in the training process, in such a way as to carry out a prospective analysis that allows us to glimpse the needs that emerge from the students. It is a question of formulating a more humanistic conception regarding a certain training project: a training guideline convergent with the beliefs of the subjects, with the fields of action and with a redefinition of the learning spaces, as spaces for the development of those intuitions and expectations of the students. The coexistence and articulation of a transversal instance that allows an upright development with the basic demands of a particular discipline can enhance said development.

On the other hand, it must be considered that the concept of innovation implies a change at various levels. Not only is innovation faced with theoretical and disciplinary postulates that produce and promote reductionist and fragmented knowledge, but also, in the formulation of plans and programs, that overcome old practices. In addition, it is vital to innovate in classroom teaching practices and in evaluation practices, especially those that are related to the process. Following this idea, it is necessary to relieve learning over teaching, shifting the focus to the student. Hence, the importance of its autonomy arises. In this sense, the use of active methodologies is important, in which students become participants in their own learning. It is a personal construction, elaborating representations and attribution of meanings from previous experiences and knowledge. Getting involved with your own learning is, therefore, having a willingness to learn, according to the immanent needs of the subjects in question; giving meaning to the training process and, consequently, appropriate knowledge. But this disposition, the significance and the appropriation are not a question of rational order a priori, but rather, it has to do with the emotions that move the subject when he approaches the object of study or when he is in front of a complex phenomenon, to which one wants to access, to know. It is not reason itself that activates emotions, it is emotions that allow rational decisions to be made [9]. Then, thinking

*Perspective Chapter: Higher Education Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109318*

about innovation, spaces or favourable learning environments must be created so that the initial impulse of the students has room from the emotional—that is, that this allows having such a disposition on the part of the subjects, that learning is an experience with meaning and sensitivity, after all, valued from emotion, 'as a disposition to action' [10].

#### **5. Education and subject**

What are the ontological and epistemological reasons or assumptions that support education today? What are the educational policies that establish the guidelines for country-level education? What is the role played by the subject in higher education? What importance is attributed to the subject as an actor of his own learning? All these imposed questions point to the conditions or limitations that make it difficult for the subject to express himself. That is to say, they are conditions that hinder the needs of the subjects as students.

Faced with this problem, one should consider the issue of the subject's historicity, in the line of Dilthey, as a historical subject or historical Being, who understands his conditioning and who is capable of facing that complexity of reality and, consequently, of acting against such impositions. It is a permanent update of the phenomena and the situated subjects and of the awareness that one has of it. In this outcome, the subject, as a student, interacts with the university space that governs certain modes of approach to knowledge, or the object of study, by imposition from the normative plane, which stresses, in turn, the subjectivities of the students. Should higher education institutions analyse this problem and the subjects become aware of it, a possibility of change, an alternative look and a position towards their formation as an individual and as a social entity could be glimpsed.

This self-awareness may be the one that can potentially guide the student in understanding their own formative assessment, with awareness of the institutional seal, the identity of the profession, the discipline and the historical moment.

Consequently, the importance lies in the rescue of the subject; in the ability to think by himself, and in the power of the subjectivities that move it. By this, there is an intrinsic wealth to the subject that must be revealed to the world and that must be rescued from training, beyond discipline and profession, from their humanity. In this sense, university education would be understood as a concept that articulates knowledge and awareness, *'as long as it can consistently empower a person to build their reality, which supposes that the individual has a sense from which and for which to build that reality'* [11].

Rescuing the subject who learns means rescuing subjectivity by generating spaces for creativity and conditions that allow them to develop their own thinking and, in the same way, allow them to interact with others and position themselves in the world as a subject with historical awareness, with the capacity to reconstruct the past for the appropriation of the future [12]. Along the same lines, developed by Zemelman, the interaction with others is expressed in a collective identity that supposes the shared elaboration of a common horizon, which points to the idea of a social transformation that can be potentially built. Indeed, this author points out that *'the role of education is not to impose value, emancipatory or critical discourse; it is unleashing the need for freedom, the need for emancipation, the need to be builders of one's own life'* [13].

Continuing with the idea of rescuing immanent human potentialities, Figueroa [14], regarding Kant, points out that *'…education would be the process through which the* 

#### *individual is encouraged to bring out or deploy the possibilities or perfections that his being shelters and seeks… his very and complete constitution as a human being'.*

Likewise, the development of the human condition has always been related, historically, to language and this is another aspect to consider: that of consciousness and language, along the lines of Chomsky. This approach distinguishes language in such a range that the subject is capable, through it, of accessing the natural world, of knowing it, of grasping it. And in this sense, language contributes to the awareness of the world that the subject builds, complementing Vygotsky's approach, which proposes that the subject is not limited to responding to stimuli, but rather acts on them, transforms them and is influenced by the social environment. Then, the subject is capable of acting against coercive forces, moved by the will that is born from emotion.

On the one hand, the concepts of conscience and autonomy of the subject are involved. Autonomy, up against the exogenous intervention that could be translated as an imposed rigid structure. Then, the autonomy of the subject has to do with consciousness, where they must learn to face and live with unpredictability, understanding that there are no longer certainties. The relativization of concepts and worldviews has made the reality even more complex. That is why it is necessary to promote the autonomy of the subject, recovering the subjectivity of the individual, revealing their symbolic languages and valuing the epistemic qualities that underlie those languages.

On the other hand, the autonomy of the subject, as a student, will be understood, for the purposes of this chapter, as the capacity that he potentially possesses to selfregulate his own learning. And this ability to self-regulate has to do with the metacognition process, understood as the awareness that the subject has of their cognitive mechanisms, as declarative knowledge and as procedural regulation [15]. In this regard, *'Consciousness would imply high levels of control of the activity, the understanding of the elements and how they are related, with which the subjects, through the use of consciousness, can recognize and understand both the results as the processes involved in the actions that they carry out'* [16].

However, this self-regulation of learning must be mediated by the intervention of the teacher, to the extent that it is done systematically in the processes of evaluation and feedback of learning, evidencing the achievements and making the students aware of them. Therefore, there is a shared responsibility, as a teacher-mediator and as a subject that builds new knowledge from their potentialities and subjectivities based on learning environments that consider spaces for their autonomy. In the words of Zemelman [17], *'the construction of autonomy supposes thinking from the capacity to signify'*, through the use of language. Consequently, the appropriation of concepts and the possibility of manifesting them and acting from one's subjectivity allows the ability to be a subject in the face of history and circumstances [18].

#### **6. Conclusion**

The curricular structure of higher education should be aligned with the development of new knowledge, with the subjects conditioned by history and by the sociocultural context. These relationships converge in a kind of supply and demand that involve a struggle of forces between desire and need. In addition, the higher education institution is faced with a dynamic and complex reality in which the challenges are even greater to the extent that it must decide how to respond to the demands and training needs of a certain community in a certain territory and in a certain historical moment. Likewise, innovation must be carried out in accordance

#### *Perspective Chapter: Higher Education Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109318*

with the multidimensional nature of reality, and this will be successful providing that is capable of reading said reality and interpreting it in such a way as to be able to capture both theoretical approaches and the subjectivities of individuals, in addition of the operationalization of a certain educational project, understood as the curricular implementation. Finally, we must consider the autonomy of the subject, meaning to rescue the essential values immanent in each subject. We must guide them in their educational journey, giving them tools for a more effective—and at the same time—more autonomous learning with the awareness of it. The rescue of the subject is nothing more than revealing the subjectivities of the individual.

### **Author details**

Juan Sebastián Vergara Palma Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile

\*Address all correspondence to: jvergara077@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

### **References**

[1] Ruiz JM. Teoría del Currículum. Madrid: Editorial Universitas, S.A; 1996

[2] Lyotard JF. La condición postmoderna. Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra; 2021

[3] Giraldo JEC, Campo VMG. Factores de innovación curricular y académica en la educación superior. Uni-pluri/versidad. 2005;**15**:1-15

[4] Zabalza Beraza MÁ. El Prácticum en la formación universitaria: estado de la cuestión. Revista de educación. eneroabril 2011;**354**:21-43. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11162/80892

[5] Palma JSV. La dinámica del rediseño curricular desde la perspectiva de la formación profesional basada en competencias dentro del marco de la globalización en una institución de educación superior pública. Plumilla Educativa. 2019;**24**(2):155-173

[6] Vergara J. Algunas consideraciones en torno al modelo educativo de la Universidad de Chile. Revista Enfoques Educacionales. 2017;**14**(2):30-35

[7] Toussaint S. Acerca del Humanismo. Editorial Hueders: Humanitas y pensamiento moderno; 2021

[8] Lisbon Summit; 2000 Available from: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/ summits/lis1\_en.htm

[9] Maturana H. Emociones y lenguaje en educación y política. Chile: Ediciones Dolmen Ensayo; 2001

[10] Casassus J. La educación del ser emocional. Chile: Editorial Cuarto Propio; 2009

[11] Zemelman Merino H. Lenguaje y producción de conocimiento en el pensamiento crítico. México: Serie Seminarios y Conferencias; 2011

[12] Torres A, Torres J. Subjetividad y sujetos sociales en la obra de Hugo Zemelman. Colombia: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional; 2010

[13] Zemelman Merino H. Educación como construcción de sujetos sociales. La Piragua: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Educación y Política; 1992

[14] Figueroa M, editor. Ensayos en torno al sentido de la educación. Chile: Ril Editores; 2017

[15] Flórez Ochoa R. Autorregulación, metacognición y evaluación. Colombia: Universidad de Antioquia; 2000

[16] Organista Díaz P. Conciencia y Metacognición. Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana. 2005;**23**:77-89

[17] Zemelman Merino H. El ángel de la historia: determinación y autonomía de la condición humana. Barcelona: Anthropos Editorial; 2007

[18] Zemelman Merino H. Historia y Autonomía en el Sujeto. Conferencia Magistral en el Encuentro Nacional y Regional de investigación Educativa. México; 2012 (YouTube Conference, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=tIrKmPZC5j4)

### **Chapter 11**

Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19 Pandemic – New Strategies and Practices in Achieving Needed Competencies for Students

*Hussein M. Khaled and Ahmed M. Makhlouf*

#### **Abstract**

The COVID-19 issue forced necessary changes in medical education that have been demanding and adjusting for different medical colleges, but they also provide a great opportunity for the betterment and possible challenging and useful transformation of medical education. This chapter examined the responses of medical organizations to this pandemic, its merits, and its challenges. It analyzed the potential effects of new strategies' recognition and application on medical education in the post-COVID-19 period. The status of medical education before COVID-19 and the challenges of adopting competencies have been reviewed. The teaching and assessment strategies innovated in the COVID-19 era and reflections from faculty and students were discussed. Over the previous years, the pandemic has questioned concepts about how medical education should be delivered. The COVID-19 pandemic offers the medical education community a unique chance to reorient itself away from outdated standards and practices and toward more societally responsible and accountable standards and practices. All involved in medical education should all work together to prevent situations from "snapping back" to how they have always been because they were accepted practices and would be lost if the pandemic had the potential to disrupt growth and reform.

**Keywords:** medical education, post covid, competency, new strategies, societally, accountable standards

#### **1. Introduction**

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, several questions arose regarding deliberate and major communal reflection on current and upcoming medical education procedures worldwide. The COVID-19 issue forced necessary changes in medical education that have been demanding and adjusting for different medical colleges, but they also provide a great opportunity for the betterment and possible challenging and useful transformation of medical education. We will examine the potential effects of new strategies' recognition and application on medical education in the post-COVID-19 period. We will analyze how the appreciation and adoption of new approaches may impact medical education in the post-COVID-19 era. Medical education should not be rigid but rather flexible and, via continual reflection, must be able to respond to social requirements. We will review the status of medical education before COVID-19 and the process of transition from the traditional curriculum to a competency-based one and the challenges of adopting competencies by medical students in teaching and assessment. The teaching and assessment strategies innovated in the COVID-19 era and reflections from faculty and students will also be discussed. The chapter will end with lessons learned and recommendations for both practice and research.

#### **2. Medical education before COVID-19**

#### **2.1 Historical perspectives**

There are three basic eras of medical education. Prior to Flexner (up until 1910), there was the first one that was based on the master-apprentice paradigm. Principles outlined by Abraham Flexner and William Osler served as the basis for medical education during the Flexner era (1910–1970) [1]. According to Flexner, there needs to be more stress on knowledge in medical education because the master-apprentice paradigm did not produce trained physicians [2]. This lengthy time was defined by a curriculum that included clinical clerkships in the clinical phase and biological science courses in the preclinical phase [3]. With the help of this curriculum, medical schools implemented a discipline-based approach with a rising information load and offered all phases of education in classrooms, laboratories, and university hospitals or institutes of tertiary healthcare [4].

The third phase, which began in the early 1980s, focused on raising the standard of medical education. A significant turning point was reached with the 1993 World Summit on Medical Education recommendations (Global Standards). The Edinburgh Declaration said that the goal of medical school is to prepare doctors to be attentive listeners and observers, skilled communicators, and capable clinicians who strive to enhance everyone's health. The idea of society-based education has emerged, according to which kids should be exposed to health issues as early as their first year of school [5]. Even though medical education has made considerable strides in recent years, there is still potential for upgrades and new ideas to better prepare doctors for societal health [6].

#### **2.2 Medical education trends today: shifting educational paradigms**

"Despite being continuously identified, most medical schools have done little to correct the severe problems in the manner they educate their students during the previous 60 years," [7]. Given the flow of medical information and innovative technologies, as well as the rapidly changing needs of future practice, medical school was soon becoming an ineffective and cruel means of teaching students. This was particularly true given the demanding schedule of lectures on foundation sciences followed by equally demanding clinical teaching courses. Medical educators have frequently

#### *Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

expressed their growing worry about the limitations of traditional medical education over the course of several decades [8].

Three significant difficulties (the "unholy trinity") of concern have been listed in the reports of the General Medical Council, UK (1993), World Federation for Medical Education [9], and Association of American Medical Colleges [10–12]. This concern included lecture-based instruction, a curriculum that is highly disciplinespecific, and education that is highly teacher-centered [13]. The preclinical/clinical division has persisted to this day in many locations, with each course component growing independently of the others. Each component of the course was spread out without the other's moderating influence or a coordinated analysis of the course's overall objectives [14]. Medical students were primarily engaged in compartmentalized discipline-specific learning because of being immersed in such an educational environment. As a result, they frequently are deficient in the capability to integrate, assess, and utilize knowledge from various specialties to solve common health problems. Abrahamson (1996), in his authoritative book "Diseases of the Curriculum," has already thoroughly documented these issues related to the creation and delivery of the medical curriculum. The fundamental criticism of teacher-centered education is that it fosters a culture of authority reliance where teachers determine what, how, and when pupils should learn things. Skills for self-directed learning include the vital requirement for continuous continued self-education, so important to medical practice, is therefore never cultivated and developed in students, and as a result, it is not ingrained in student mindsets and learning attitudes [11].

We can be sure that the physicians of the future will be applying the know-how competencies and utilizing talents that are now unforeseeable given the rate at which the horizons of medical science and technology development. But some elements of modern medicine's art and science are crucial to its practice and undoubtedly will endure. For the rest, our most excellent bet is to cultivate doctors who can adapt to change, have brains open to new ideas and innovations, and have learning mindsets that encourage continuing education throughout their professional careers [14].

A concern has been being stated that a significant shift in the direction of medical education to make it more relevant to societal requirements is required, inescapable, and urgent [15], with the retention of some of the contemporary art and science of medicine that is important to its practice and will likely endure. Global reforms in medical education typically entail the following paradigm shifts: to interdisciplinary integrated curricula (designed to maximize horizontal and vertical integration of the medical course); to problem-based (or assignment-based) educational approaches that inspire active-interactive learning in small groups; and to more student-centered (learner-centered) and self-directed learning. The SPICES model for curriculum planning also includes a shift from a hospital-based to a community-based, one-sizefits-all obligatory course program to contributions of electives to further reassure self-directed learning, and from an apprenticeship to a more systematic approach to curriculum planning and scheduling. These modifications are in addition to the paradigm shift toward a student-centered, problem-based, integrated curriculum [16].

Significantly reducing the "burden of factual information imposed on students," enhancing "learning through curiosity, the exploration of knowledge, and the critical evaluation of evidence," and "ensuring a capacity for critical evaluation of evidence" are just a few of the clear-cut recommendations made by the Education Committee of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom (1993). These recommendations also included teaching students "attitudes of thought and behavior that befit a doctor… with traits acceptable to his/her future duties to patients, coworkers, and

society in general" and emphasizing "communication skills and the other basics of basic clinical procedure" throughout the course. •The curriculum emphasizes "public health medicine… embracing health," adjusting clinical teaching "to changing patterns in health care and… provide the experience of primary care and community medical services as well as hospital-based services," which includes "health promotion and illness prevention, assessment and targeting of population needs, and awareness of environmental and social factors in disease." [11, 17].

Education in medicine has the potential to be revolutionary [18]. Since delivering a product crucial to individual and societal well-being is the goal of medical education, the educational process itself should not be viewed as a finished product but rather as one that is continually responsive to shifting societal needs [19, 20]. This is because the social community itself is continuously moving under a diversity of demands in knowledge, technology, finances, and societal conditions [21].

#### **2.3 Current trends in medical education: challenges and opportunities**

The capacity to design educational activities for the classroom and clinic that maximize learning is necessary for teaching [22]. The teaching abilities of medical professors are, of course, essential to the success of curricular revisions. For our instructors to implement excellent teaching methods that will maximize the educational results of student learning, we must make sure that their teaching skills are constantly improved [23]. The adoption of curriculum changes in medical education will have a substantial impact on the construction and provision of the curriculum, learner assessment, teaching and learning strategies, and competencies achieved by graduates. Given that educators are answerable to all parties involved, it is crucial for medical educators to reevaluate their positions to guarantee that the standards of medical education they deliver can keep up with the escalating needs of medical practice in the new millennium. An academic who merely gives data is not a teacher. A teacher is someone who encourages learning, which leads to lifelong changes in behavior and mental processes [24].

To improve their knowledge of learning theories and the educational process, medical educators must examine their own attitudes, actions, perceptions, and assumptions regarding teaching and learning. It is no longer acceptable to assume that a teacher is competent and effective just based on their subject-matter (content) knowledge. Teachers need to sincerely consider whether they are willing to adjust their beliefs and behaviors to conform to the changing paradigms in education. Teachers must shift from playing the position of the "sage on the stage" to that of the "guide by the side," facilitating and fostering the thought and learning processes [25]. To enable their students to take greater initiative and responsibility for managing their own learning as well as their own academic and personal growth, teachers must establish partnerships with their students to foster a sense of community and bonding in the classroom. Teachers will need to research the best ways to use technology to improve the learning environment for kids in the digital age. Medical students, patients, and the community will all benefit from the education provided by medical teachers who can effectively blend their subject-matter expertise with sound pedagogical principles. Teachers must therefore do a good job of preparing today's medical students to become the capable, compassionate physicians of tomorrow.

The future of medical education is uncertain. Although the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education levels each have their own distinctive characteristics, the similarities among the three levels are particularly telling and serve

#### *Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

as the foundation for making well-informed decisions about the future of medical education. Some of the internal and external difficulties that undergraduate medical education faces are described in [26]. Internal obstacles include a staff whose research is primarily concentrated at the molecular or sub-molecular level, implications of inpatient vs. outpatient teaching, and implications of an emphasis on sickness to the relative exclusion of behavior. The exponential expansion of information-related technological ("disruptive") developments and societal changes are examples of external forces. In order to overcome these obstacles, the institution must take bold leadership with a view toward the time following 2020, when current matriculants will start their careers. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) developed a set of competencies in 1999 in response to criticism of traditional curricula from the public. Competencies are observable qualities that articulate the knowledge understanding, psychomotor skills and beliefs, and attitudes required for graduates to be able to provide healthcare for individuals and societies. These learning outcomes are used by competency-based medical education (CBME) to structure medical curricula and evaluate students' progress in acquiring these competencies [26, 27].

Competency-based medical education emphasizes skills gained during that time rather than the amount of time spent learning the content. Contrary to the traditional medical curriculum, CBME adopts the Dreyfus model of skill development, which consists of a number of milestones for learners to pass through, starting with novice and ending with master. Every learner will progress at a different rate and may be at a different stage of mastery for various skills. As a result, the precise measurement of competencies through continuous evaluation in CBME acts as a forewarning mechanism that gives feedback to students and enhanced the capability of residency training mentors to identify performing deficiencies in trainees and programs in time for them to address these practice gaps. Clear descriptions of the competencies and the milestones for each competency, precise assessments of learners, and the procedures for evaluating those competencies, and the resources for giving learners feedback to support learners' progression are necessary for CBME to be successful [27, 28]. In CBME, the assessment of competency serves the dual purpose of identifying what has been learnt as well as what is necessary to pass the following milestone stage. These tests are meant to be formative rather than summative, which means that their purpose is to provide informational feedback to direct a learner's development. Summative evaluations, on the other hand, are meant to assess current proficiency levels in order to guide grade assignments, rank advancement, or scoring. Miller's pyramid represents various levels of assessment in which lower-level talents lay the groundwork for increasingly difficult tasks [29]. When examining the obstacles to the implementation of CBME and how to overcome them in 2022, Jayson M. Stoffman focused on three major themes: the value of stakeholder and administration engagement, the significance of supervisors and resident training for the specific duties and necessities of CBME, and the application of the necessary educational and technological strategies for this novel training model [30, 31].

#### **2.4 The world before COVID-19: CBME prior to the pandemic**

A competent person is one who "possesses the required abilities in all domains in a specific situation at a defined stage of medical education or practice," according to Michael S. Ryan et al. (29). The variety of abilities across different areas or dimensions of physician performance in a specific environment, competence is multidimensional

and dynamic, is how competence is defined. It alters with passing years, experience, and situations. Historically, "time-in-seat" has been used as a subpar but workable and practical proxy to assess trainee competence. Contrarily, CBME places more obvious stress on a learner's capabilities as the result of their training. To describe how CBME is implemented effectively, consensus recommendations on the concept of CBME, efficient techniques for assessment, essential elements to build CBME courses, and the function of instruction in promoting physician development are needed [32].

The terminology used to discuss curriculum and assessment procedures is distinct. This includes words like "competencies," "milestones," and "entrustable professional activities (EPAs)" which are similar but distinct. While milestones represent the progressive stages that doctors advance through within a specific competency in description terms, competencies illustrate the skills and qualities of physicians. EPAs adopt a slightly different perspective; they discuss the job done by doctors. Eight CBME frameworks have been quickly embraced and adopted, but there have still been several noteworthy difficulties. A CBME model is for assessment calls for a variety of techniques, assessors, rater selection and training, psychometrics, and group-based decision-making. The deficiency of funding for medical education and research, the dependance on expectable numbers of residents and fellows to encounter patient care needs, controlling supplies for the profession, and complacency on the part of educational leaders and healthcare systems are additional problems along with assessment-related challenges. While there has been significant progress toward realizing CBME in the months and years leading up to COVID-19, much more work is still needed [33].

#### **3. Consequence of COVID-19 on medical education: what happened and what are the reflections**

The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the tragic loss of human life, enormous economic effects, and widespread societal unrest. The global response, changes, and changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic will undoubtedly serve as a milestone of the twenty-first century. Many nations instituted harsh lockdowns, effectively preventing everyday human interaction, in order to slow the virus' spread. While no sector remained untouched, the global educational system saw well over a billion children barred from traditional classroom settings [34]. The epidemic has brought about and hastened new development and established a necessary change culture in all facets of education. Accepted and widely used methodology in teaching, learning, and assessment have been called into question, and despite their longevity and perceived significance, they have been replaced by cutting-edge online teaching and assessment techniques [35].

The shift to a range of online learning modalities from largely in-person lectures, tutorials, skill building, and clinical experiences was highlighted as a significant transition in medical education. E-learning, which is defined as the delivery of educational experiences via the internet, has been examined as a useful teaching method for the medical field for more than 20 years [36].

The transition to online learning presented significant challenges for medical schools to guarantee an effective learning setting for medical students by accentuating tech-based instruction, counseling, inspiring, and encouraging feedback from medical students as well as supporting medical instructors in adjusting to the new environment [37, 38]. Medical students are often able to acquire online distance

#### *Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

education (ODE) through one of two main systems: asynchronous (recorded) distance education (such as podcasting and recorded lectures) or synchronous (live) distance learning (such as video conferences and virtual classrooms) [39]. One of the new prototypes is the "flipped classroom." It is a hybrid learning approach that combines an asynchronous component that enables medical students more scheduling flexibility with a synchronous component that facilitates interaction between medical students and faculty members [11, 40].

Exams for medical students were another aspect of medical education influenced by the COVID-19 epidemic [41]. In various countries, clinical and written tests have been canceled, postponed, delayed, or replaced with online exams or other evaluation methodologies [41]. Universities and educators had to respond to the new reality of the pandemic, which sparked a debate between open book examinations (OBEs) and closed book exams (CBEs) (CBEs). Due to their complementing advantages, OBEs and CBEs can both share a blended assessment system. This pandemic's changes present a crucial chance to test different approaches to medical education and assessment [42].

More significant was the change affecting CBME undergraduate training in medicine, in a way that implies support for the CBME model [32]. The LCME specifically emphasized that the main factor determining a learner's preparedness for advancement was the learner's fulfillment of programming objectives [43]. Medical schools were able to concentrate on achieving competency but even despite this, the LCME has continued to support objectives rather than rotating duties in its support of curricula and evaluation frameworks that are outcomes-based. The requirement to convert from conventional face-to-face education to alternative modalities like virtual simulation or telemedicine is another issue that is relevant to CBME. These pandemicinspired instructional innovations may ultimately turn out to be advantageous in the long run. For instance, there is a large amount of academic research supporting the idea that learners might benefit from performing patient care tasks in a simulated venue before delivering real patient care. This has been demonstrated in healthcare practice, using task trainers that follow procedures and simulation-based training for high-risk circumstances like codes. This raises the issue of whether students of medicine and other health professions should first prove their proficiency in a virtual setting before moving on to actual practice. The impact on testing and grading is one indirect effect of CBME models. Anecdotally, several schools reported that when National Board of Medical Examiners subject exams were given prior to the beginning of the clinical immersion phase, students' performance on them was comparable or, in some cases, even improved. Additionally, because there was little time for observation, medical schools had to deal with the problem of grading. This led to the conversion of many to a pass/fail scoring system for advancement. Collectively, these difficulties caused individuals involved in medical education to re-evaluate advancement ideology and evaluation grading [44].

Milestones 2.0, the new milestones that the ACGME first announced in 2018 and have continued to release over the previous 4 years, are what first signaled the advancement of CBME in GME. Traditional training methodologies that mainly relied on progress occurring based on amounts of time spent and number of cases/clinical situations were questioned because of COVID-19. The American Board of Medical Specialties and the ACGME both responded by issuing guidelines that emphasized the importance of competency attainment by laying out the minimal standards for competency-based assessments necessary to make "defensible, high-stakes entrustment" decisions for specific learners [45]. Clinical competency committees (CCCs) were urged to assess each learner's current competence and work with them to develop a

personalized learning plan to fill in any gaps [46]. The COVID-19 disruptions provided brand-new opportunities for in-person evaluation of residents and fellows. During the pandemic, interprofessional and interdisciplinary teamwork grew, creating novel and more regular opportunities for multisource assessment and feedback (i.e., 360-degree evaluation) [47]. Additionally, fresh windows of observation, like telehealth, opened up. Finally, out of need, fellows and residents were given more authority with supervision titrated to entrust ability for particular duties, including letting fellows temporarily assume the position of attending in their primary field of study [48]. The pandemic increased the CCC's significance for programmatic assessment as well. The crucial function of the CCC was fortunately supported by a body of research on group dynamics and the usage of CCCs in GME, which was formalized in the summer of 2020 with the publication of the third edition of the Clinical Competency Committee Guidebook. The complete impact of the adjustments to the assessment inputs used by the CCC to make developmental judgments is not yet understood [49].

The UME-to-GME transition is the other significant pandemic-related disturbance. While some specializations offered "boot camps," in most cases, there was no systematic "warm" handoff from UME to GME. Both the class of 2020 and, possibly more so, the class of 2021 encountered difficulties because of this gap. By the time the pandemic-related interruptions occurred in 2020, graduating students had finished most of their training; many students in the class of 2021, however, witnessed a decrease in clinical experiences, notably in electives. The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, AAMC, ACGME, and ECFMG developed a toolkit in response to these significant concerns of the 2021 transition to provide support and supplies for learners and educational program managers [17].

#### **3.1 Expected developments on medical educations**

The forced changes brought on by the pandemic crisis were difficult, but they also represented a huge opportunity to pause and consider the area of medical education's future in depth and reflection [33]. The purpose of medical education, the competencies that must be attained, the methods of delivery, and the characteristics of students and graduates are the four main subjects that merit reflection.

#### *3.1.1 The purpose of medical education*

Within the confines of a controlled healthcare workforce equation, the healthcare system and medical education programs are intricately linked and frequently reliant on patient care revenues. Because clinical services account for a sizable percentage of an academic center's revenue in many countries, its teaching emphasis are likely to be geared toward cost-effective preventative care for society rather than specialized expert treatment for individuals who can provide it in tertiary hospitals [50]. It is time to question our reliance on this paradigm of educational and healthcare delivery given the public health constraints and inequity issues it has brought to light and to consider alternate futures. Academic institutions and the healthcare industry should work together to reimagine the healthcare system such that it rewards public health and preventative care rather than focusing solely on diagnosing and treating terminal illnesses. For this health-based strategy to be promoted, community involvement is essential. The widespread adoption of telemedicine, which was prompted by social pressure to distance patients from their doctors, presents a chance to enhance preventative care, patient well-being, and health at a reduced societal net cost [51, 52].

#### *Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

Patient-physician communication could increase if doctor visits are quicker and less time-consuming for patients. This would free up more time for discussion of common behaviorally modifiable preventive health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and weight management [53]. All medical students in today's medical education must complete years of general training before concentrating on a specialization. Many students may feel the necessity to select a specialty based on higher fee and the related business system where disease creates cash to offset the cost of medical training. The maintained dependency between healthcare business delivery sectors and medical education should be disrupted to address this systemic issue. This would promote progress toward a more equitable system of medical education and service delivery.

#### *3.1.2 The competencies to be attained*

The pandemic has revealed that many medical schools are incapable of producing clinicians who can respond to areas at increased risk of negative effects. The substance of medical curriculum must be radically altered to meet societal demands and fill the gap revealed by recent occurrences. Three aspects that need be addressed for this move toward community and public health are disaster management, social accountability and complexity, and the ability to handle uncertainty through a range of paradigms. The pandemic demonstrates that the elegance of each specialization restricts the fundamental and universal functions and scope of medicine and is driven more by selfinterest than by societal demands and excellent quality [54]. Although skilled in their fields, doctors find it difficult to act as a generalist during an epidemic. The irony of specialization is that it may leave the public's basic and general needs unmet. It would seem essential for medical schools to collaborate with local organizations and learn how they might support projects and improvement plans. Medical colleges must make sure that their graduates have the professional and social skills required to be accountable to the populations with the highest requirements and possess the resources needed to minimize inequalities in advance of pandemics or other catastrophic situations [55]. The epidemic has served as a reminder of the nature of uncertainty in the practice of medicine and the need for a variety of paradigms. In addition to pharmacological and extirpative methods, medical students' toolkits should be expanded by investigating paradigms that increase their ability to adapt in uncertain situations with strategies that promote holistic wellness and help navigate uncertainty [56].

#### *3.1.3 The approach*

To modify the way medical education is given examining how teachers instruct and how successful the existing delivery mechanism is crucial. Community-based learning and open-lens medical education are two important lessons that can be drawn from the outbreak. Instead of just denoting the transfer of the curriculum to a virtual environment, the recent move to online learning in preclinical medical education opens the door to open-lens medical education [57]. There are essential medical principles that all medical students should understand, as a result, preclinical medical education should move toward "open" learning that is shared outside the bounds of specific medical schools. Institutional collaboration in order to curate new information and provide an organized, standardized, and shared curriculum of fundamental medical knowledge for all medical schools may result in the emergence of a new paradigm toward a lean medical education structure for preclinical medical education, including some of its interprofessional components. This cutting-edge medical

education strategy would increase accessibility for all students and demonopolize preclinical instruction without respect for socioeconomic class [58].

#### *3.1.4 Characteristics of undergraduates and graduates*

If social accountability is a goal that should be pursued in medical education, then the method of instruction should be in line with the context of the goal. Medical schools must prepare doctors for their future environments, including those that go beyond the confines of the lecture hall and the clinic. It is interesting to note that there is a trend to question the conventional idea of "learner-only" student activity, which is motivated by the necessity to deal with the current pandemic. The Medical Schools Council in the UK has published extremely precise guidelines outlining the function of medical students who volunteer at work [59].

The epidemic is making it more difficult for students to distinguish between practicing to learn and learning to practice in medical schooling. Medical educators should be able to manage this conflict in the future both pedagogically and socially. The practice of medicine is governed by a social compact that calls for both scientific expertise and professional ethics. Future doctors should be chosen by medical schools if they are ready to accept the professional obligations required in underserved and varied populations, especially in times of emergency. Choosing a different labor force with strong internal enthusiasm rather than an external drive, a highly developed idea of social accountability rather than personally engaged attainment, and the ability to comprehend and communicate with diverse communities will help achieve this. The qualities that should be prioritized for such a workforce are probably different from those from the past [60].

#### *3.1.5 Blind areas in competency-based medical education that COVID-19 has brought to light*

The pandemic amply illustrated the need for ongoing assessment development. We must move more quickly to measure skills like professionalism, interdisciplinary coordination, quality improvement and patient safety, care coordination, and cost sensitivity. In many GME programs, these competencies are still not frequently evaluated, let alone taught [61]. We must then reevaluate end-of-rotation testing. The future of medical education will better support learner growth and evaluate the caliber of our training programs by combining assessment for learning and coaching technologies. At the same time, we must make investments in reliable systems for training faculty. Progress testing, which evaluates developmental progression across training years, has been introduced by medical educators; this may be valuable [62]. To facilitate a more organized, effective transition, work is needed to achieve a more significant alignment of evaluation methods between UME and GME. We lack a true continuum of medical education, and the UME, GME, and continuing medical education all operate under different accrediting bodies, with various standards and methods for implementation and competency assessment. These discrepancies are the root of the detrimental effects on patient care to address these issues, and creative systems are required. Both intern boot camps and capstone courses for medical schools have proved effective. Others have strengthened feedforward operations across and within settings, or they have experimented "warm handoffs" between UME and GME leaders [40]. The integration of coaching programs along the continuum from UME to GME may be one of the other models [63].

Following our experience with the COVID-19 pandemic and the tensions contained within the questions, Michael S. Ryan et al. (REF) suggested some significant

#### *Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

CBME-related questions that stay for the medical education group and suggested recommendations to advance CBME [63]. Is broad-based training best or specialty-centered training better? Although basic and comprehensive knowledge may be applicable throughout contexts and specialties, it might not be as useful in the course of daily work. How do we bargain over trainees' service and learning needs is the second query? Dedication to meeting customer demands validates the trainee's worth and offers a real apprenticeship experience with increasing responsibilities. However, relying too heavily on the trainee to execute tasks they are underqualified to do could compromise patient care and reduce other learning chances for a well-rounded education. Is using rotating models to demonstrate proficiency effective? is the third query [64].

While longitudinal approaches encourage earned trainee autonomy and the development of relationships between trainee, patient, and supervisor, rotational (i.e., block) rotations give scheduling convenience and the chance for exposure to diverse professions. Can the student drive their own learning? is the fourth query. Learner-centered curriculum is better for developing skills and knowledge, but they are challenging to standardize and use. Is it possible to advance beyond time-based advancement? is a different query. A competency-based model frequently views time variability as essential, but in actuality, incorporating it may be difficult. What are our financial limits for promoting CBME? Although some may counter that there has already been considerable investment in a medical education system that has not produced the required outcomes, CBME is an expensive proposition. To obtain desired results, it is necessary to think about whether existing resources should be relocated and better aligned. In response to these queries, several suggestions have been made. General physician competencies should be covered in training by all levels of medical educators. Leadership in the health systems should offer just-intime training for competencies and entrustable professional tasks required in emergency settings. We should work to strike a balance between classroom instruction and hands-on experience (sometimes known as "service"). The patient care responsibilities of learners should be such that they advance their learning and enable involvement with different educational and multimodal learning methodologies. Leaders in medical education should look for chances to expand and further analyze longitudinal rotations. In order to assist the development of competence, coaching programs should be designed throughout the educational continuum. They provide a chance to embrace learner centeredness. Medical education should make use of individualized, trainee-led learning programs as a common practice. Promotion at your current position (with improved and progressed responsibility) presents a chance to advance in a temporally varied manner [11, 32, 35, 64].

Educational leaders must engage with accreditors, licensing authorities, and credentialing organizations to eliminate structural barriers to a time-variable program of growth across the continuum and stimulate progress. Additional funding is undoubtedly required to support programs for faculty/learner development, assessment, and curriculum creation in order to achieve CBME. The most effective use of money should be prioritized in medical education. Educational leaders should work together to exchange novel ideas and successful strategies [11, 32, 35, 64].

#### **4. Situation analysis: egypt as an example**

#### **4.1 Recent efforts of reform of medical education in Egypt**

From early 2015, the national Committee of the medical studies in the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities (SCU) has started a plan for medical education

development at its three levels: undergraduate, medical internship, and postgraduate phases. The main target is to achieve a shift to competency-based education and training. Egyptian reform efforts for undergraduate medical education are as follows:

Several national committees for reform of undergraduate medical education program representing national and international medical education experts, deans of medical schools, members from supreme council of Egyptian university hospitals, ministry of health leaders, medical syndicate leaders, and other stakeholders have been assigned for this task and started their work June 2016 till now. Most of the medical schools in Egypt delivered a traditional Flexnerian undergraduate medical education program for a long period of time. The notion of reforming the conventional program was seriously considered in response to major circumstantial changes and the WFME 2015 recommendations.

A comprehensive context evaluation was conducted to explore the challenges of the traditional program from the stakeholders' perspective, evaluating the quality of the traditional program in graduates' perceptions, and assessing the educational environment from the students' perspectives using focus group discussions with the deans and vice deans of all medical schools, as well as a questionnaire for a representative sample of students. A road plan and medical education methods applicable to the country in changing situations have been accepted, such that medical education is innovative and capable of preparing students to function in a changing medical science setting and to implement quick answers and offer a framework for a new curriculum to be adopted by all medical schools. This included incorporating newer teaching elements into the undergraduate course, such as the introduction of a foundation course after admission to effectively prepare a student to study medicine; facilitation of horizontal, vertical, and spiral integration between different disciplines; advocating for early clinical exposure beginning in the first year (viz. case scenarios for classroom discussion/case-based learning); and encouraging the student doctor method of clinical comprehensive training and learning.

An awareness campaign started in first trimester of the academic year 2016/2017. All governmental, Al-Azhar, and private medical schools all over Egypt at that time were included. The awareness package was delivered to the stallholders in each school including students and recent graduates, and their reflection was reported through focus group discussions. A Google form web-based questionnaire was disseminated to all medical schools to get their feedback regarding the challenges of implementation of the new program. A final collective report was prepared for all visits and presented to SCU. The report emphasized the needs for reform and adoption of new curriculum including active learning and competency-based assessment strategies and elaborated the medical schools' recommendations regarding its implementation.

A series of meetings and focus group discussions were made between reform committees, the head of the medical studies committee, and the secretary general of the SCU and the relevant minsters to propose the frame work for the reform and the required changes in the laws and bylaws so that the period of undergraduate studies for the medical school in Egypt should be 5-year integrated program using credit points or hours followed by 2 foundation years and a license exam before starting the medical profession. The supreme council of universities approved that the new program should be implemented by all medical schools at the academic year 2018/2019.

Two documents stating a framework for preparing the bylaws and curriculum maps were prepared by and issued to all schools from the SCU. There was a continuous communication with the curriculum committees in each medical school during its

#### *Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

work on bylaws and map to be ready for the approval of the new reform. A workshop was conducted at January 2018 by the SCU and involved all high education ministry leaders and academic leaders of each medical school to present and discuss each curriculum map. Before the start of the academic year 2018/2019, all medical school's bylaws were approved by the high authority.

A technical support has been provided to all medical schools in their process of reform by helping them in designing their own curriculum according to the standards. A series of workshops under the title of excellence in medical education were conducted by Medical Military Academy in collaboration with EKB, where international medical education experts were invited to raise the capabilities of the curriculum committee's members of all medical schools regarding the integrated program. These workshops were considered a TOT for continuing training of all involved faculty in all schools. Each medical school started its own faculty capacity building with the support of RUMP members. Upon RUMP recommendation, this is a continuous process targeting to train 90% staff members.

In September 2018, the curriculum model was approved. This featured horizontal and vertical content integration, new examination processes that replaced departmental oral tests with integrated examinations, the addition of an orientation module, a greater clinical orientation beginning in the first semester, and additional optional components. The new block and vertical line components (mainly organ/ function modules lasting 3–6 weeks supplemented with semester-vertical courses) were introduced in the curriculum. A curriculum plan detailed the sequencing and duration of each component, as well as the number of credits. Following an application procedure, each medical school picked coordinators for all modules of the new curriculum. These coordinators were in charge of assembling an interdisciplinary planning committee of at least six individuals, comprising academics from both nonclinical and clinical topics. These planning teams were tasked with determining the content of their module as well as the relevant learning strategies.

A thorough, multi-component monitoring system for the entire program has been devised. The framework envisions the program's quality as consisting of four major components: curriculum and resources; personnel and teaching; student experience; and management support. The adopted audit's key principles include the belief that both student and staff experiences provide valuable information; that evaluation of teaching, learning, and assessment methods is required; that action after evaluation is critical (closing the loop); that strategies and processes must be continuous rather than episodic; and that evaluation should be used to recognize, report on, and reward excellence in teaching. Teachers, course coordinators, and administrators were involved in the evaluation and improvement activities. Three monitoring visits were conducted; twice in the first year of implementation/once per semester and the last one was conducted within the first term of the academic year 2020/2021. The later visit was laying stress on the period following the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, auditing was hanged last academic year. In each auditing visit, two assigned members have to visit the school. An external auditing checklist is fulfilled by the assigned audit members and included in a final report. Expert in the field may share in the auditing visit whenever needed. Also, a questionnaire link is sent to students and staff members in each medical school to get their feedback regarding the proper implementation of the new program. Analysis of results and recommendations are documented, and a final collective report is presented to medical sector committee – SCU. Each school report is endorsed by the Medical Sector Committee of SCU and sent to the school dean for corrective action plan.

More than 1 year ago, several actions have been done to prepare for the new Egyptian National Compulsory Medical Internship 2-year program through joint cooperation between Egyptian supreme council of universities (SUC)/committee of medical studies, Compulsory Egyptian Medical Training Authority (CEMTA), and Egyptian supreme council of university hospitals. Representatives from these organizations finally issued a specification of the program and provide guide to implementation. The program is an essential requirement for being licensed as medical practitioner in Egypt. The program is competency based using entrustable professional activities, blended learning, and assessment mainly workplace-based. Roles and expectations of interns have been illustrated, and processes and tools are to support the implementation. It aims to facilitate interns, their educators and supervisors, and directors of the program in each school in building valuable workplace learning, teaching, and assessment experiences in 2 years. The program is specified to support safe, effective patient care and promote the establishment of a culture of lifelong learning and reflection among interns. A training program is currently in process to qualify the trainers from all accredited training hospitals to ensure proper implementation.

Postgraduate Medical Education in Egypt is defined as the phase in which doctors train under supervision toward independent practice after completion of their basic medical qualification and internship compulsory training years. It comprises professional training, specialist and subspecialist training, and other formalized training programs. Upon completion of a formal postgraduate training program, a degree is usually granted. However, there were variations in the programs and degrees given in this phase essentially between universities and ministry of health. There were no standards to specify the broad components in the structure, process, and outcome of postgraduate medical education. Two major steps have been done recently to reform postgraduate medical education in Egypt. The first is a national law setting the establishment of the Egyptian health council that governs all postgraduate and continuing medical education for all graduates of health schools including medical ones. The second step is to establish standards for the creation and design of postgraduate medical (board) curriculum. These requirements demand that curricula specify high-level generic, shared, and specialty-specific outcomes, identify common areas of training, and place a higher emphasis on the generic professional competencies shared by all doctors. Each clinical specialty committee must explain and provide evidence to demonstrate how these criteria and requirements were handled in the design and implementation of the proposed curriculum. A curriculum must cover several interdependent variables in order to be useful, including clinical safety, anticipated levels of performance, standard maintenance, patient expectations, equity and diversity needs, strategic workforce challenges, and operational and professional viewpoints.

#### **4.2 The reaction to COVID-19 in Egypt**

Through a survey and focus group discussion, a 2020 study in Egypt investigated how medical schools in Egypt responded to the COVID-19 epidemic in terms of teaching, learning, and evaluation for undergraduate students [64]. Increased understanding and utilization of currently accessible technology in medical education has been one of the most important responses to the epidemic. This study found that universities' ability to respond to COVID-19 effects was fairly acceptable, with an emphasis on six imperatives: establishing multilevel contingency plans, leadership support, staff preparedness, infrastructure, technology, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Collaboration across disciplines is to create or carry out tasks. Difficulties

*Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

were evident in schools that had never utilized an LMS previously and had no prior experience. But finally, since they were obligated to, the majority of the personnel and all students were participating. Furthermore, about half of the survey participants (50%, 39/78) indicated that faculty engagement in various educational activities was appropriate. Academic professors and tutors play an important role in guiding and assisting with this shift. However, it has been acknowledged that changes and advancements in medical education place additional strain on faculty [64].

#### **4.3 Challenges and opportunities**

Some points cannot be dismissed as challenges that must be addressed. Staff capacity building needs additional attention now that the environment is set for innovation and validation of the use of online learning that arose during the epidemic. Communication between decision-makers, staff, and students has been highlighted as a critical success element for the Medical Education transformation [65, 66]. When making decisions that impact the learning process, national decision-makers must recognize and consider the unique nature of Medical Educational Institutes. They must also consult medical school management and major national entities in the judgments they make. "COVID-19 is an eye-opening experience," which assisted us in identifying our areas of strength and weakness. Despite the time constraints, it enabled us to employ our full potential to develop new teaching abilities, produce online learning materials, and sustain the learning process. However, our capabilities were not completely utilized since we lost contact with students and decision-makers, resulting in a different unique circumstance in each institute. COVID-19 was such a beneficial experience that there would have been no fundamental shift in medical education without it. Employees would not expand their talents or apply what they were learning. Some flaws would be concealed [67].

#### **5. The way forward: summary and recommendations**

COVID-19 aided to spark the fire for medical education reform in Egypt and throughout the world. Online learning has been integrated into the curriculum in such a way that it may account for 20–30% of the curriculum, particularly in the early years of medical education. It is critical to encourage engagement in online learning and to offer students with the information, skills, and attitude required for successful online learning. This might help pupils prepare for comparable scenarios or future emergencies. On the staff side, significant faculty development through training on various kinds of online and electronic assessment, such as online MCQs and open book examinations, was strongly recommended [68]. Furthermore, clinical clerkship evaluation modes such as virtual OSCE, virtual VIVA, and virtual patients were used. To create rapport and trust, open genuine and regular lines of communication are needed between students, faculty, and decision-makers. Mentorship would aid in the development of these channels. Increased efforts should be made to change student attitudes. However, the number of students in each faculty may be a significant difficulty that must be addressed in the future. Finally, national entities should create a road map/action plan that includes student union bodies. This route plan should be shared with higher-ups and decision-makers. More focus should be made on leveraging national governmental agencies to help professors and curriculum. This can be accomplished by formalizing their function in medical education. Medical Education departments and units must develop a rapid reaction plan for future management

of unforeseen incidents, which must include a viable communication strategy that begins with a stakeholder analysis [69, 70]. The supreme council of universities took action through its medical sector to support the teaching and training of primary healthcare and family medicine in the undergraduate curriculum and, more importantly, in the mandatory foundation training for all medical school graduates.

#### **6. Summary and conclusion**

Medicine is always a "child of her age" in terms of social, scientific, and service constructs. The epidemic has called into question how medical education should be given in prior years. Everyone participating in medical education has a responsibility to take use of this opportunity to promote medicine and its worth to society while also engaging in self-reflection that has the potential to transform lives. The COVID-19 epidemic provides a rare opportunity for the medical education sector to reposition itself away from obsolete standards and procedures and toward more societally responsible and accountable standards and practices. We should all work together to prevent situations from "snapping back" to how they have always been because they were accepted practices and would be lost if the pandemic had the potential to disrupt growth and reform.

### **Author details**

Hussein M. Khaled1 \* and Ahmed M. Makhlouf2,3

1 Medical Oncology Department, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Egypt


\*Address all correspondence to: khussein528@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Perspective Chapter: Reflection from the Field of Medical Education in the COVID-19... DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110151*

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## Section 3
