EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE TEACHING IN SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY: TOWARDS TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Teacher professional development is important to improve the standard of teaching and learning. In-service teachers are required to move with changing times, change their teaching and learning strategies to meet the requirements of the 21st- century learners and be relevant to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.  The distressing experience of COVID-19 has made the need for continuing professional teacher development. Over the past few years, there has been a gentle movement towards online teaching, but COVID-19 has urgently demanded these reforms. The theory of reasoned behaviour was used for the study. The purpose of the study was to investigate the importance of teacher professional development in the implementation of online teaching as a tool for distance learning since the onset of COVID-19. The study adopted qualitative methodology and employed the case study. The study conducted interviews with four university lecturers, who were chosen through a purposeful sampling technique. The data was analysed using thematic data analysis, and the data revealed that most teachers perceived online teaching as a good intervention during the period of COVID-19. However, teachers lacked training and experience when it comes to online teaching. This resulted in a lot of uncertainty when it came to online teaching; and frustration for older teachers.  In conclusion, the paper highlighted the need for teacher development in the form of in-service training.