Exploring online teaching competence in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic: insights from Sarawak, Malaysia

As the effect of school closure following the coronavirus lockdowns, the use of virtual classrooms has extremely rocketed to replace face-to-face school interaction. This change has resulted in new habits and adaptation in methods and approaches of teaching, particularly in the era of post pandemic recovery. This study is based on the phenomena occurred in most of school environments where digital (online) teaching practices become a new habit for teachers and students. A question that may arise is “do they still prefer online after the pandemic?” Drawing on this issue, this study aims to examine the beliefs of Philippines junior high schools teachers on digital teaching competence and to explore their preferences on teaching methods (online or offline) in post pandemic recovery. This study utilized a discovery-oriented qualitative approach, bridging into personal narrative and ethnographic perspective by involving twelve teachers teaching at several junior high schools in Davao Philippines. The results revealed that the teachers’ beliefs mattered in terms of digital platforms (tools) and classroom activities. The results further depicted that their acquisition of digital teaching competence greatly depended on teacher professional development programs and individual trainings. Moreover, this study also discussed the teachers’ preferences on the model of teaching either online or offline after the schools is opened. The results of this study contribute to providing valuable insights into redefining the situation of teaching and learning process in the era of post pandemic recovery.

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Examining faculty's online teaching competence during crisis: one semester on

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/jarhe-11-2020-0381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Ida Fatimawati Adi Badiozaman ◽

Augustus Raymond Segar ◽

Dorene Iah

Keyword(s):

Time Management ◽

Online Teaching ◽

Course Design ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Target Population ◽

Small Sample ◽

Content Type ◽

Require Time ◽

Teaching Competence ◽

Faculty Readiness

PurposeThis study aims to examine the faculty perceptions of their competence and readiness for online teaching in Sarawak higher education (HE).Design/methodology/approachA validated instrument, Faculty Readiness to Teach Online (Martin et al., 2019), was distributed to four main higher learning institutions in Sarawak, Malaysia, yielding 174 responses.FindingsThe highest rated competencies across the four HEs were course communication and course design. This was followed by time management and technological competence. MANOVA results showed no significant differences in the demographic variables.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study must be viewed in light of some limitations of its generalisability. First, the small sample size does not fully represent all of the target population. Secondly, the study did not provide qualitative research data, especially pertinent to how the teachers perceived their competence linked with their ability and online teaching behaviours.Practical implicationsThis current study shows that all participants were cognisant of the need to enhance their competencies to teach online. As acquisition and mastery of such competencies may require time and support, this means that the transition to online teaching requires advanced levels of instructor training and support, be it through professional development programs or in-service training.Originality/valuePerceived importance for online teaching competence was ranked highly across all the four institutions. This understanding can help HEs transcend emergency online practices to provide data-driven approaches to better support and improve coordination, resilience and adaptability in HE.

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