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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 2
Publication Date: February 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.82.9617.
Dlamini, B. S., & Zwane, P. E. (2021). Reflection on Covid 19 Educational Contexts, Pedagogy of Hope, Self-efficacy and Effort: University
of Eswatini . Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(2) 238-256.
Reflection on Covid 19 Educational Contexts, Pedagogy of Hope, Self- efficacy and Effort: University of Eswatini
B. S. Dlamini
Faculty of Education, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Eswatini
P. E. Zwane
Faculty of Consumer Sciences, University of Eswatini, Manzini, Eswatini.
ABSTRACT
Towards the end of 2019 the world experienced the Coronavirus
disease (Covid 19) pandemic which affected operations of education
systems. This reflective study examines how a lecturer and students
built hope and self-efficacy under Covid 19 educational contexts. Self- efficacy–hopeful thinking model and Bernstein Framework were used
in this study. The sample consisted of 515 students and 1 lecturer and
it was sampled through purposeful stratified sampling. Data was
collected through the lecturer’s self-reflection on his ability to build
hope, self-efficacy to meet academic demands. The lecturer also
observed students’ behaviours and interaction. The data was analysed
through content analysis. The findings indicated that Covid 19
educational contexts mediated on students’ levels of hope, acadmic
investment and created false impression that University academic year
had been lost. Some students developed low level of self-efficacy belief
which forced them to approach educational problems without feelings
of conviction and hopeful thinking. The findings indicated that
lecturer’s behaviour towards students contributed to the improvement
of a high sense of self-efficacy belief and effort investment in their
work. The lecturer maintained hopefullness and confidence among
students. The study concluded that educational processes under the
uncertainties of Covid 19 were paradigm shift for the lecturer and
students’ academic life. It provided them with opportunities to
transform and reconstruct their pedagogical discourses in relation to
Covid 19 educational contexts. It may be recommended that lecturers
and others within institutions may be urged to reflect on Covid 19
educational challenges and embrace them rather than avoid them.
Key words: Covid 19, Hope, Self-efficacy, Effort, Empathy
INTRODUCTION
The world has experienced different world orders or scenarios which influenced the education
systems in different ways and the peoples’ different pathways of thinking. Some of these world
orders include the end of the cold war, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the collapse of
apartheid in South Africa in 1994 and the 2008/2009 global financial crisis and later in 2019 the
world experienced Covid 19 world health pandemic.
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Dlamini, B. S., & Zwane, P. E. (2021). Reflection on Covid 19 Educational Contexts, Pedagogy of Hope, Self-efficacy and Effort: University of Eswatini .
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(2) 238-256.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.82.9617. 239
The influence of these world orders, were felt across international and national socio- economic
spheres including education. This highlights the critical fact of the interdependence of nations as
dictated by the process of globalisation and international interconnected socio-economic
challenges and peoples’ movement. For example, Covid 19, one of the complex world challenges
was spread across continents and countries’ through peoples’ movements, either by air or road.
These challenges have brought uncertainties in education and in other sectors of societies, but
these should not paralyse professionals and make them feel incapable of responding to,
conducting themselves in a professional way within those uncertainties.
The Covid 19, the world health pandemic shaped and reshaped the fundamental principles of
teaching and learning, including students’ trust and lecturers’ empathy. It influenced all spheres of
life, including students’ motivation and self-regulations of academic involvement, persistent effort
on their academic work and hope for success. It added a new layer of complexities in some
education systems which already had a number of challenges. For example, the Eswatini education
system had experienced a decrease in public or government funding and the pressure to address
or respond to the shortage or incapability of the schooling system to teach learners the required
competencies (Ministry of Education and Training Analysis Report, 2016). The system had a
challenge of producing and disseminating economically productive and competitive graduates.
The government believed that today’s knowledge-based economy requires more and highly
competent employees and employers to accelerate economic development and inclusive growth.
This belief gave rise to a number of dilemmas and paradoxes because institutions were increasing
access and participation while government was unable to provide financial support.
The year 2020 could be described as a unique one particularly from March 2020 to June 2020
because the country was in systemic panic about the future of the education system and the
viability of the country’s economy. Any country’s economic status depends critically on the
country’s education system. The impact of the education system in society is observed through
employers’ and employees’ capabilities to influence inclusive economic growth and sustainable
development. As Bill Clinton, the former US president once noted that we could not have economic
development without skilled and competent employees and employers. The capabilities of
entrepreneurs to push the frontiers of economic development more often are derived from the
country’s education system. Today’s economy depends on those individuals who have received
good education and contemporary economy has to be based more on authority of idea and less on
the ideas of authority (Summers, 2011, p 19).
Covid 19 Global Health Order and Professionals’ Reflection
This global order (Covid 19) inevitably, shaped and will continue to shape the present and future
of the education systems and professional practices in different ways. There were some anxieties
related to Covid 19 and were observed across all spheres of the education systems. Covid 19 has
exploited and influenced the injustices of the educations and challenged educationists’ thinking
disposition. They have to see Covid 19 as wake up call to re-align their professional practices with
this world health order. This became a requirement for all because in an interconnected,
interdependent world, working together and relying on the educational principle of quality
education became the only option.