COVID-19 AND TRANSITION TO DISTANCE LEARNING: PERSPECTIVES OF POSTSECONDARY TEACHERS IN KENYA

Abstract

Several countries have transitioned to online and/or virtual learning to minimize the impact of Covid-19 on education. In Kenya, schools were closed for the better part of 2020 and reopened back on relying on an online mode and/or virtual learning. However, very little is known about the impact of such transition on postsecondary educators. Therefore, this research aims to bridge this gap by investigating the impact of online and/or virtual learning transition on postsecondary educators based on age, gender, location, and academic rank. Using a nationally distributed web-based survey, the study utilized data from 117 educators across Kenya who participated in the survey between August-September 2021. The results show that transition to online and/or virtual learning due to Covid-19 saw a substantial impact on teaching/research, productivity, and practical lessons across both genders, all age groups, locations, and academic ranks. However, the differences observed across genders, age groups, locations, and academic ranks were not statistically different. There is a lack of empirical evidence on the impact of the transition to online and/or virtual learning on educators due to Covid-19. Higher education administrators and government policymakers will find value in this paper as they work to respond to the negative effects of Covid-19 as well as opportunities in online and/or virtual learning.