Reimagining Global Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences and Lessons from African International Students

• In Event: New ways of thinking about education and the post-pandemic world

Proposal

Transforming higher education requires institutions to adapt. High-quality distance learning experiences and hybrid learning modalities expand access to higher education institutions for students who cannot travel. In response to a growing need for online learning options, institutions at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership are accelerating their e-learning initiatives. This study offers empirical evidence of the challenges and opportunities of one such program. In 2020, remote learning opportunities were extended to scholarship recipients from African nations who were studying at a large, public North American university from their home countries and institutions in Ghana amidst COVID-19-related travel restrictions which prevented them from studying in North America. Students completed the final year of their undergraduate studies remotely as a part of a 3+1+1 accelerated master’s degree program and partnership between two prominent Ghanaian universities and one North American university. Insights from this study of their experiences inform efforts to support students not only in the midst of COVID-19-related learning challenges but also in the broader context of the future of e-learning. This inquiry, which focuses on the exchange of knowledge across borders and explores cross-national collaboration notwithstanding barriers such as a global health crisis, illuminates the potential of well-supported e-learning opportunities to expand access to high-quality education globally.

The following questions guide this inquiry:

What challenges did students face while learning remotely from Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic?

What strategies did the students use to cope with remote learning?

What opportunities did the COVID-19 pandemic present for the students?

Conceptual Framework

This study's conceptual framework stems from nS PE theories of distance learning, student engagement, and social context in higher education to understand how students' physical location shaped their remote learning experience in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic (Brown et al., 2020). Prior to the suspension of in-person classes as a result of the crisis, student engagement was one of the major concerns of educators in an online setting (Palvia et al., 2018). It remained a priority as schools closed down and moved to remote learning environments globally. In these remote learning settings, students were expected to join their classes during scheduled class hours and engage in all activities regardless of their geographical locations. The remote learning environment was introduced to allow students to keep up with their studies without the social face-to-face interaction among students and their instructors in an on-site classroom environment (Garbe et al., 2020). In view of the exiting digital divide between Africa and other regions of the world, the lack of digitally-enhanced remote learning spaces, computer devices, and stable Internet connection shaped the learning experiences of most African students to fully participate in the distance learning, especially for international students taking classes offered by institutions abroad (OECD, 2021). This study's conceptual framework provides contextual insights into distance learning.

Participants

This study explores the experiences of 24 students from African nations who were located in Ghana and studying remotely at a North American university during the 2020-2021 academic year. The majority of participants (54%) were women (n=13) and 46% were men (n=11). The students represented three home countries including Ghana (75%, n=18), Zimbabwe (17%, n=4), and Democratic Republic of the Congo (8%, n=2).

Data Generation and Analysis

Data generation comprised 24 individual interviews conducted via Zoom which each lasted 45-minutes. The interviews were recorded and transcribed by a third-party. These transcripts were de-identified and analyzed using qualitative data analysis software and deductive coding. Codes were predetermined based on the questions guiding this inquiry to (1) identify key challenges students faced during their remote studies, (2) understand strategies that students used to cope with these challenges, and (2) illustrate opportunities presented by these experiences. Resulting themes were analyzed through the lens of the conceptual framework to situate the findings within the existing literature on distance learning.

Findings and Contributions

Students faced multiform challenges in their remote learning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were expected to participate synchronously on the North American time schedule. This required an inversion of their days and nights to study throughout the night necessitating significant lifestyle changes to adapt to this challenge. Technological and situational difficulties such as noise and Internet connectivity issues prevented students from fully participating in their studies. Group work was a cornerstone of the remote learning experience and was further complicated by time zone differences and situational challenges including technology. A key strategy that participants employed was to contribute asynchronously in Google Docs so they could participate before meetings in case they encountered technical difficulties. This proactive strategy illustrated the students’ resilience and adaptability. They also found that these asynchronous options prevented the development of long-term or deep relationships with their colleagues. These experiences and challenges highlight the need to create culturally-grounded remote learning. For students in this study, that meant managing obligations and expectations at home and building their environments to be conducive to learning in spite of inevitable situational challenges.

Challenges of remote learning were accompanied by opportunities for greater engagement with course content at one’s own pace. For example, students celebrated the opportunity to revisit recorded lectures as needed. While they found group work challenging, the students also shared that they benefited from the international networking made possible through their remote group work and office hours with faculty and students despite being far away from one another. The interaction between home obligations and online learning led to novel ways to incorporate their family members into their learning cultures and environments. In particular, one student shared how they were able to invite their grandmother to experience their remote learning space.

This study offers insight into the promise and possibility of e-learning initiatives between Africa and other regions of the world. These students and the institutions that supported them demonstrated resilience through their adaptations to global challenges. Furthermore, they employed diverse and creative strategies to turn their challenges into opportunities for learning. Understanding these experiences and lessons learned informs broader efforts to promote expanded access and foster equity in and through global distance learning initiatives.

Authors

• Atota Halkiyo, Arizona State University

• Abubakar Idris, Arizona State University

• Janna Goebel, Arizona State University

• Abou Touré, Arizona State University

• Nana Sakyiwa Brown-Wood, Arizona State University