online education in pakistan due to covid 19 essay

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Online Academics in Pakistan: COVID-19 and Beyond

Nazia mumtaz.

1 Dr. Nazia Mumtaz, PhD. (Rehabilitation Sciences) Head of Department of Speech Language Pathology, Faculty of Rehab & Allied Health Sciences, Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Ghulam Saqulain

2 Dr. Ghulam Saqulain, F.C.P.S (Otorhinolaryngology) Head of Department of Otolaryngology Department of ENT, Capital Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan

Nadir Mumtaz

3 Mr. Nadir Mumtaz, LLB Former DG Research, FBR Islamabad, Pakistan

COVID-19 is a menace for Pakistan’s fragile and overburdened health care system and infrastructure, insidiously permeating the socio-economic fabric. Globally complete to partial shutdown of educational institutions has been enforced, transitioning from face to face to online academics. Academic institutes are floundering to withstand the brunt. Therefore, the current study was conducted to attempt to review and highlight the impact and challenges posed by transition from conventional to online academics and how to approach them, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic with the perspective of developing countries like Pakistan. For this purpose, search for relevant literature using search engines and websites including Google, Google Scholar and Web of Science as well as Medline database was conducted with keywords “Covid-19, academics, mental health, social impact and e-learning and combination of words”. Thirty two English language, full text articles published in the last ten years from 2010 to 2020 were selected for the literature review. With this literature review, we conclude that this lockdown has caused significant distortion in the academic world yet unequal interruption in learning with significant disruptions in internal assessments and qualification examinations with developing countries like Pakistan, compounded by a compromised educational system. However, COVID-19 is spurring the case for conversion to online academics and developing countries like Pakistan are poised to develop reliable, cost effective and secure online academic system whether it is bane or boon.

INTRODUCTION

The term “Global village” has now become synonymous with the term “Global Pandemic” recognizing no geographical border, affecting the affluent Western countries more in terms of mortality. Africa and swathes of South Asia and Far East apparently have escaped the brunt. 1 The West has the financial strength to weather out the pandemic, yet such technological advancement is not available to the developing world. A common concern is the academic vista of those enrolled in educational institutions in Pakistan and the scurrying of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and universities to convert to online academic and a deviation from conventional instructional methodology. The underlying sentiment is that COVID-19 may persist until the virus runs its life cycle in the backdrop of any scientific curative breakthrough.

This strain of virus (Novel corona or SARS-CoV-2) has been declared as a global emergency by World Health Organization. 2 In Pakistan it is not clear if co-morbidities are the underlying factor for COVID-19 related fatalities or such fatalities are being attributed towards the virus. The vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 has to pass the clinical trial stages. Travel restrictions have seriously impacted academicals routines. 3 The West remains engrossed in their response to the threat of COVID-19 and reconciled to an educational shutdown, including losing precious academic semesters at all levels with more than 100 nations enforcing closure of educational institutions. 4 In Pakistan students and faculty remain confined to homes yet maximum utilization of time can be productively made across educational disciplines including research. Private sector universities have oriented towards digital academics, yet the federal education authorities seem to have abdicated from their moral authority by citing constitutional provisions under the cover of 18 th amendment of the constitution of Pakistan. An underlying reason for this advertent neglect is that the teachers’ jobs in the federation and provinces are protected as being paid from the taxpayers’ money.

A transition from conventional teaching to online delivery of programs and courses is underway. 5 With conventional education system being a skill development tool, capable of raising skills and social awareness, institutions stopped in-person teaching and are opting for virtual settings to promote learning. In Pakistan HEC is committed to make e-learning a success in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, with only some previous efforts made by Open University, 6 while some universities already commenced online classes and stragglers take the refuge of summer break to prepare for transition to online academics.

With around 90% of world population affected by such closures, 3 UNESCO shared recommendations for uninterrupted online learning for the lockdown period, however detractors opine that online teaching is complicated due to the poor economic conditions in the middle income countries while losing sight of the fact that application like Facebook are widespread in Pakistan.

A significant by product of online academics is cost reduction in terms of physical infrastructure. Virtual universities in some developing countries are confronted with the paradigm of synching and integrating of online into research factored distant education as the next academic frontier. 7 Hence, this paper attempts to review challenges posed by transition to online academics and how to approach them in the wake of current pandemic with perspective of developing countries like Pakistan. For this purpose, to broaden the search for relevant literature search engines and websites including Google, Google Scholar and Web of Science as well as Medline database search was conducted. The keywords used for the search including “COVID-19, academics, mental health, social impact and e-learning. The Boolean operator “And” and “Or” were also used employing the said keywords. The search was limited to the articles published in the last ten years from 2010 to 2020. Duplicates, articles in other languages, and articles in which full-text was not available were removed. Initially skimming technique was used to select articles on titles of relevance, which resulted in 58 articles, of which 26 were excluded following the review and 32 articles were selected for the literature review ( Fig.1 ).

Diagrammatic representation of search strategy.

Compared to western countries like United States of America where institutions offered 89% courses online and out of those more than 50% offered full degree programs completely online, 8 in the developing countries the picture was dismal with only some open universities partly offering such programs before the COVID-19 lockdowns. 6 The challenges posed by transition from conventional education system to online academics and how to approach them in the wake of COVID-19 threat in developing countries like Pakistan is discussed.

With the threat of spread of virus, academic institutes are confronted with the looming specter of digital infrastructure, bandwidth and licensed software applications. Hence, an invigorated HEC, initiated inculcation and training of faculty and staff in the realm of online modalities in the entire spectrum of undergraduate to doctoral level through an enabling environment. This concept is strengthened by a previous study conducted by Badasyan and Silva which reported significant improvement in test scores in native language and math’s tests. 9 Also in an Eastern Mediterranean study involving English preparatory students, majority revealed that they can use internet as an educational tool, 10 if accompanied by resilience. 11 The major issues expected to arise are in the disciplines requiring clinical training which require hands as well as interactive environment and although not as effective through a digital interface artificial cadavers is a moot point as a practice already in place. As reflected in an Indian study involving dental students to adopt digital revolution in education 12 hence, the proverbial bridge can be crossed. The Radiology department of local tertiary care center has started tasking residents with radiological images delivered online for quiz. 13 Since, clinical education has been severely affected development of education consortiums for residents may be required. 14 In countries with advanced healthcare systems, telehealth practices are in vogue covering the clinical component aspect.

The sudden immersion into online academics and unreliable attendance pattern and dissimilar video online applications need to be worked upon and developed in harmony to dispel any paradox. The online situation into which the academics both teachers and students have been thrust is, unforeseen with students perceiving that readiness was lacking among staff and institution. 11 In this backdrop HEC rising out of its slumber and perhaps as a reaction to the initiatives of one University even convened a meeting of Vice Chancellors.

Accessibility

In the developing countries, access to technology may not be affordable to all and 80% students may remain deprived of computers and internet and the need for cheap, rugged equipment for the rural students in the developing countries persists. 15 In a Nigerian study by Jibrin MA et al. reported that challenges faced in the use of internet were its speed as well as deficient stable power supply and recommended support by government for tertiary institutions. 16 In Pakistan the government has ordered a 20% cut in school fees, 17 amid lockdowns affecting the lower and middle class sadly the educational sector remains grossly neglected in terms of state sponsorship. Sensitive sectors of human development appear to be wrested away by lobbies with myopic vision instead of non-discriminatory research being encouraged in the virtual environment.

There are complex needs of language teachers using computer technology in addition to acquisition and constant improvement in their skills that are required, in addition native teachers may need to face variety of teaching and learning cultures. 18 Indo-Pak subcontinent abounds in local languages and according to Ramani S, in an Indian study concluded that content in learners own language is essential in developing countries as far as online academics is concerned and has proposed use of Roman script for using students own language for communication online will count. 15

Training, control and support of staff & faculties

In the absence of Information Technology (IT) staff in schools, permanent school staff needs to be trained to maintain their IT systems. 15 In an article, Dhilla SJ reviewed the online academic faculty development and reported that online academic teaching profoundly impacts the pedagogical practice of teachers. Faculty encounter a sense of vulnerability while navigating online. 19 A local study revealed medical students to have negative perception as regards online education necessitating improvement by faculty and administrators. 20

Also, Tannehill DB et al. concluded that an organization’s ability to implement standard of instructional design and practice would result in positive experience of students in online academics. 21 The authors of the current study, who are also senior faculty members, now involved in online academics, faces similar experience. In an Indonesian study by Hasibuan and Santoso, developed an Administration System for supporting online academics, however the on ground success of the system is still to be examined. 22

Student Assessment & Examinations

In some regions including Pakistan, though online learning has been recommended, 23 the closure of schools due to COVID-19 emergency has occurred at a critical time for evaluations and critical academic events cancelled. According to Burgess & Sievertsen, internal assessments in institutions are being given less importance during this COVID-19 emergency resulting in cancellations. Here it should also be kept in mind that students who are not given actual grades followed by being given predicted grades influence the labor market for students. 24 Online assessments being opted by many universities in place of conventional examinations may be faced with ethical considerations accompanied by assessment errors. In a study by Alruwais N et al. reported that in addition to benefits of online assessment, it also faces barriers like poor technical infrastructure especially in developing countries; unfamiliarity of students with the hardware, software as well as assessment process; scoring issues; as well as difficulties in assessment of projects given to groups. 25

Online Security Issues

The platforms, soft wares, applications deployed for online academics are also liable to security breach. Layefa & Jackson in a Nigerian study concluded that such systems insecurity of authentication especially of the student are major challenges recommending that Nigerian institutions, should adopt security measures and ensure safety of transfer of data using encryption processes. 26 It may be endeavored to video-audio record assessments to ensure transparency.

Impact on Social Skills and Awareness

With loss of conventional face to face learning, social skills and social awareness, which are advantages of a conventional system may be affected in an online system. In a study by Carlsson M et al. to find impact of days of schooling on cognitive skills, it was reported that ten additional days of schooling raises results on intelligence tests including synonyms and technical comprehension by one percent of standard deviation with no additional impact of off school days. 27 Also another study showed the positive effect of instructional time on test scores, however the effect was lower in developing countries and higher for schools with accountability measure. 28 In context of Pakistan, lack of immediate student feedback in on-line lecturing, teachers faced difficulty assessing understanding of students and students misbehavior was also noted along with unethical access to online resources and for these acquiring of better software’s as well as those required for proctoring are suggested. 29

Mental Health

Mental health issues are on the cards during this COVID-19 lockdown, 30 as the looming economic meltdown broods ill results for the outlook of vulnerable students and they require emotional counseling during these arduous times. Online academics may miss such issues. 8 In a study Papadatou-Pastou M et al. reported online support systems created to support mental health, however only some cater to higher education learners 31 impacting the mental health of students in this online academic era brought upon by COVID-19.

Policy makers need to take cognizance of rapidly evolving academic settings to ensure an uninterrupted standardized online teaching in this unforeseen situation, which according to Hashmi AM et al. has the capacity to bring changes in education sectors in countries like Pakistan 32 and for sustainable reliability of online academics.

CONCLUSIONS

Lockdown of centers of learning globally has caused significant distortion in the academic world but unequal interruption in learning with significant disruptions in internal assessments and qualification examinations with developing countries like Pakistan, compounded by a compromised educational system as evidenced by the penchant and preference for even dubious foreign degrees, makes all equally affected. However, it should be borne in mind that COVID-19 is spurring the case for conversion to online academics and developing countries like Pakistan are poised to develop reliable, cost effective and secure online academic system. Whether it is going to be a bane or boon can be considerably influenced by time, resources made available and concerted efforts made by the relevant stakeholders.

Authors’ Contribution:

Nazia Mumtaz: Conceptualization of work, designing of research, Analysis & Interpretation & responsible for integrity of the work.

Ghulam Saqulain: Writing of Manuscript, Methodology, Literature Review & Finalization for publication.

Nadia Mumtaz: Critical revision of article.

Conflict of Interest: None.

Grant Support & Financial Disclosures: None.

COVID-19 spurs big changes in Pakistan’s education

Neelam ejaz, neha ravail khaliq, yahya bajwa.

Pakistan's schools are reopening again today after a nearly uninterrupted 11-month hiatus.  In March 2020, the Government of Pakistan closed all schools as part of a nationwide lockdown, prompting the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFE&PT) to seek education alternatives to ensure learning continuity.

During the first phase of school closure, Pakistan launched the TeleSchool initiative in collaboration with leading EdTech providers such as Knowledge Platform , Sabaq.pk , Sabaq Muse , and Taleemabad to broadcast free learning content to grades 1-12 students. After briefly opening for 6 weeks, schools were closed again in November. In December, the government launched its first Radioschool to expand student outreach in response to the second school closure.

Has COVID-19 ushered in a new era for how Pakistan delivers education? 

Evidence points to the fact that the EdTech sector has become a crucial education player.   Through virtual blackboards, online live classes, and Learning Management Systems, animated videos, augmented reality, and gamification, EdTech has brought in innovations that will change the way children in Pakistan learn and access education. 

EdTech startups have reported a 20 to 100 percent growth in users during COVID-19.  The World Bank recently held its second EdTech workshop – EdTech Pakistan 2.0 – to connect startups with development partners, government, and other stakeholders. The virtual workshop focused on distance education, blended learning, and girls' education amid COVID-19 and how to keep the momentum to cater to the large population of out-of-school children.

Boosting girls' education online

Nearly one out of three girls in Pakistan has never been to school. Distance from schools, security, and lower numbers of female teachers are among the main reasons behind girls' low enrollment and high dropout rates, translating later into only 26 percent female labor force participation.

Technology, coupled with community support and parents' involvement, can play a critical role in enabling more girls to access a safer, skills-oriented education. 

For example, Edkasa , a startup, offers virtual, interactive classrooms and reaches beyond major cities to Pakistan's poorest districts. Their primary focus is girls' education in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, providing online classes beyond traditional activities such as "Silai Karhai" (Sewing and Stitching). Another startup, AzCorp , uses 'Edutainment' as their learning foundation, focusing on embedding civic rights, social justice, and gender equality themes among their viewers.

"With the Coronavirus outbreak, it was very difficult to continue studying, but the launch of TeleSchool by the government has really helped us cope." – Primary School Student, Rawalpindi

Bridging gaps with distance education

By confining them at home, COVID-19 has limited students' access to schools, teachers, and learning materials. Distance learning programs have provided an opportunity to surpass this challenge and enable uninterrupted access to resources. To support this, the MoFE&PT has established a new 'Distance Education Wing' to continue developing alternate modes of education, even after schools reopen. Provincial governments have also used digital tools to ensure learning continuity. In collaboration with Sabaq Muse , Sindh Government rolled-out a learning app in 700 schools offering animated and interactive story-based learning content, focusing on early years and primary education. The app provided free learning materials in Urdu, English, and Sindhi.

Capturing student interest is key to improving learning outcomes both at home and in the classroom. Teach the World Foundation focuses on engaging students through gamification, self-learning, personalization, and real-time data tracking to improve learning outcomes using existing resources. Another startup, Kar Muqabla , infuses play and competition to enhance students' learning experience, linking students from across the country through school competitions and providing a space for non-academic creativity.

"When the COVID-19 situation is handled, and students return to schools, they will have TeleSchool as an additional resource available to them." – EdTech Service Provider

Blended learning and the digital divide

The MoFE&PT is also piloting blended learning in 200 public school classrooms to better understand the implementation challenges of new technologies. Schools closure has further spotlighted the existing digital divide across Pakistan. Only 34 percent of households in Pakistan have internet access, and 14 percent have laptops or computers. Girls tend to have limited access to digital resources compared to boys. Although online learning resources are growing, support infrastructure for EdTech, as well as a cohesive implementation strategy to reach the most vulnerable, is a hurdle. In order to support students, MoFE&PT is working towards subsidized packages for devices and broadband.

According to early World Bank estimates, at least 1 million children in Pakistan are expected to drop out of school owing to COVID-19's socioeconomic impact.  The second round of school closures may result in even more children not returning to schools. Distance learning programs and open educational platforms have enabled schools to limit the disruption caused by COVID-19, but there is much to be done to make sure that these mediums have a broader impact on learning. The growing EdTech sector provides alternatives to sustain learning during the pandemic and can be groundbreaking to improve education access post-pandemic. 

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• Inequality and Shared Prosperity
• Girls' Education
• Human Capital

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​Reflections on online teaching amidst the COVID pandemic 

The beginning​.

Entering the Maze of Online Teaching: The Why and Whereof

The Key to the Maze

I tried game-based activities like Kahoot, Mentimeter, Quizziz and Nearpod.  I used whiteboard and annotations on Zoom, cloud on Mentimeter and Padlet’s collaborative boards. My students enjoyed working in break-out rooms, doing virtual seminars, and tele-simulations. I also tried virtual labs to teach students assessment skills, making home-based task trainers for practising lung examination (I showed them how to make a body torso by wrapping a cloth piece on a 19-gallon water bottle, and drawing anatomical landmarks on it). The students re-demonstrated the learnt assessment skills on their handmade torso while I gave them feedback online. It became a jointly exciting endeavour. In fact, now that we have learnt the basics, I am willing to do it again with more confidence, hopefully with fewer trials and tribulations.

Surviving the Maze: The Indelible Moments

No matter how and where I conducted online classes from, there was this additional uncertainty of whether real students are sitting behind the screen or were those just on-screen selfies. How can I forget those awkward instances: somebody calling you in the background, children crying and fighting, hard- of- hearing parents calling to check if you are still online, doorbells ringing, hawkers announcing their arrival in neighborhood, pets and stray birds seeking your attention; and of course, the sound of a toilet flushing which served as an embarrassing reminder of the need for an urgent ‘break time’; instances that cause untold mortification in the moment and are only humorous in retrospect. 

Recalling the stories of my remote students is the most sobering of memories. These students were unable to access university learning management system, due to no internet connectivity or adequate bandwidth at their homes. They had to travel long distances, request for escorts, arrange transport to reach the local hub campuses, for downloading e-resources, and transferring files into their USBs. Learning was a painstaking journey for them. Driven by the need for equity and fairness, I sent voice messages to them on their phones, held calls in the middle of night when connections were better so they could share their queries on my recorded lectures.

Continuing the Journey 

A call for action

Let us innovate, put our thinking caps on, and redesign. Do not just go back to face-to-face teaching only nor struggle with the isolated fully virtual classes but create a blend of synchronous classes with asynchr​onous activities. For teaching practical skills, we can offer face- to-face value-based sessions with a combination of demonstrations, virtual and tele-simulation learning. Let us transform the future of education. Let us redesign education for this era. We have stayed within the status quo for too long. I am for the blended bichronous mode of teaching: 2021 and beyond!  ​

About the author

Shanaz Cassum is an Assistant Professor at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery. She is an inaugural member of the AKU Teachers’ Academy, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK. She received the Award for Innovation in Teaching Practice in recognition of her outstanding teaching and academic pursuits at AKU’s Global Convocation 2021. 

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• Published: 25 January 2021

Online education in the post-COVID era

• Barbara B. Lockee 1  

Nature Electronics volume  4 ,  pages 5–6 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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The coronavirus pandemic has forced students and educators across all levels of education to rapidly adapt to online learning. The impact of this — and the developments required to make it work — could permanently change how education is delivered.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to engage in the ubiquitous use of virtual learning. And while online and distance learning has been used before to maintain continuity in education, such as in the aftermath of earthquakes 1 , the scale of the current crisis is unprecedented. Speculation has now also begun about what the lasting effects of this will be and what education may look like in the post-COVID era. For some, an immediate retreat to the traditions of the physical classroom is required. But for others, the forced shift to online education is a moment of change and a time to reimagine how education could be delivered 2 .

Looking back

Online education has traditionally been viewed as an alternative pathway, one that is particularly well suited to adult learners seeking higher education opportunities. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has required educators and students across all levels of education to adapt quickly to virtual courses. (The term ‘emergency remote teaching’ was coined in the early stages of the pandemic to describe the temporary nature of this transition 3 .) In some cases, instruction shifted online, then returned to the physical classroom, and then shifted back online due to further surges in the rate of infection. In other cases, instruction was offered using a combination of remote delivery and face-to-face: that is, students can attend online or in person (referred to as the HyFlex model 4 ). In either case, instructors just had to figure out how to make it work, considering the affordances and constraints of the specific learning environment to create learning experiences that were feasible and effective.

The use of varied delivery modes does, in fact, have a long history in education. Mechanical (and then later electronic) teaching machines have provided individualized learning programmes since the 1950s and the work of B. F. Skinner 5 , who proposed using technology to walk individual learners through carefully designed sequences of instruction with immediate feedback indicating the accuracy of their response. Skinner’s notions formed the first formalized representations of programmed learning, or ‘designed’ learning experiences. Then, in the 1960s, Fred Keller developed a personalized system of instruction 6 , in which students first read assigned course materials on their own, followed by one-on-one assessment sessions with a tutor, gaining permission to move ahead only after demonstrating mastery of the instructional material. Occasional class meetings were held to discuss concepts, answer questions and provide opportunities for social interaction. A personalized system of instruction was designed on the premise that initial engagement with content could be done independently, then discussed and applied in the social context of a classroom.

These predecessors to contemporary online education leveraged key principles of instructional design — the systematic process of applying psychological principles of human learning to the creation of effective instructional solutions — to consider which methods (and their corresponding learning environments) would effectively engage students to attain the targeted learning outcomes. In other words, they considered what choices about the planning and implementation of the learning experience can lead to student success. Such early educational innovations laid the groundwork for contemporary virtual learning, which itself incorporates a variety of instructional approaches and combinations of delivery modes.

Online learning and the pandemic

Fast forward to 2020, and various further educational innovations have occurred to make the universal adoption of remote learning a possibility. One key challenge is access. Here, extensive problems remain, including the lack of Internet connectivity in some locations, especially rural ones, and the competing needs among family members for the use of home technology. However, creative solutions have emerged to provide students and families with the facilities and resources needed to engage in and successfully complete coursework 7 . For example, school buses have been used to provide mobile hotspots, and class packets have been sent by mail and instructional presentations aired on local public broadcasting stations. The year 2020 has also seen increased availability and adoption of electronic resources and activities that can now be integrated into online learning experiences. Synchronous online conferencing systems, such as Zoom and Google Meet, have allowed experts from anywhere in the world to join online classrooms 8 and have allowed presentations to be recorded for individual learners to watch at a time most convenient for them. Furthermore, the importance of hands-on, experiential learning has led to innovations such as virtual field trips and virtual labs 9 . A capacity to serve learners of all ages has thus now been effectively established, and the next generation of online education can move from an enterprise that largely serves adult learners and higher education to one that increasingly serves younger learners, in primary and secondary education and from ages 5 to 18.

The COVID-19 pandemic is also likely to have a lasting effect on lesson design. The constraints of the pandemic provided an opportunity for educators to consider new strategies to teach targeted concepts. Though rethinking of instructional approaches was forced and hurried, the experience has served as a rare chance to reconsider strategies that best facilitate learning within the affordances and constraints of the online context. In particular, greater variance in teaching and learning activities will continue to question the importance of ‘seat time’ as the standard on which educational credits are based 10 — lengthy Zoom sessions are seldom instructionally necessary and are not aligned with the psychological principles of how humans learn. Interaction is important for learning but forced interactions among students for the sake of interaction is neither motivating nor beneficial.

While the blurring of the lines between traditional and distance education has been noted for several decades 11 , the pandemic has quickly advanced the erasure of these boundaries. Less single mode, more multi-mode (and thus more educator choices) is becoming the norm due to enhanced infrastructure and developed skill sets that allow people to move across different delivery systems 12 . The well-established best practices of hybrid or blended teaching and learning 13 have served as a guide for new combinations of instructional delivery that have developed in response to the shift to virtual learning. The use of multiple delivery modes is likely to remain, and will be a feature employed with learners of all ages 14 , 15 . Future iterations of online education will no longer be bound to the traditions of single teaching modes, as educators can support pedagogical approaches from a menu of instructional delivery options, a mix that has been supported by previous generations of online educators 16 .

Also significant are the changes to how learning outcomes are determined in online settings. Many educators have altered the ways in which student achievement is measured, eliminating assignments and changing assessment strategies altogether 17 . Such alterations include determining learning through strategies that leverage the online delivery mode, such as interactive discussions, student-led teaching and the use of games to increase motivation and attention. Specific changes that are likely to continue include flexible or extended deadlines for assignment completion 18 , more student choice regarding measures of learning, and more authentic experiences that involve the meaningful application of newly learned skills and knowledge 19 , for example, team-based projects that involve multiple creative and social media tools in support of collaborative problem solving.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, technological and administrative systems for implementing online learning, and the infrastructure that supports its access and delivery, had to adapt quickly. While access remains a significant issue for many, extensive resources have been allocated and processes developed to connect learners with course activities and materials, to facilitate communication between instructors and students, and to manage the administration of online learning. Paths for greater access and opportunities to online education have now been forged, and there is a clear route for the next generation of adopters of online education.

Before the pandemic, the primary purpose of distance and online education was providing access to instruction for those otherwise unable to participate in a traditional, place-based academic programme. As its purpose has shifted to supporting continuity of instruction, its audience, as well as the wider learning ecosystem, has changed. It will be interesting to see which aspects of emergency remote teaching remain in the next generation of education, when the threat of COVID-19 is no longer a factor. But online education will undoubtedly find new audiences. And the flexibility and learning possibilities that have emerged from necessity are likely to shift the expectations of students and educators, diminishing further the line between classroom-based instruction and virtual learning.

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Online Teaching Experience during the COVID-19 in Pakistan: Pedagogy–Technology Balance and Student Engagement

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• Published: 06 June 2021
• Volume 14 , pages 367–391, ( 2021 )

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• Tayyaba Abid 1 ,
• Gulnaz Zahid   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1280-0780 2 ,
• Naseem Shahid 2 &
• Maham Bukhari 3  

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This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of university teachers who participated in online teaching for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative method of data collection and inductive thematic analysis were used. The data were collected through a semistructured interview from 11 faculty members who teach in various universities in Pakistan. The analysis presented five themes of the online teaching experience: culture and gender-related issues, teaching effectiveness, challenges in online teaching, coping strategies, and faculty’s’ post-COVID-19 perceptions. The findings reflect that the faculty prioritized to focus on immediate online instructional matters in the wake of the pandemic with a lack of emphasis on global practices for online learning. Experienced and young faculty reported disparities in striking a balance between pedagogy and technology. Moreover, despite the limitations, the experience itself prepared the faculty for a blended learning approach and increased their awareness of global and future challenges. The implications were reported based on the findings.

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1 Introduction

A global change in the mode of work was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic with an increased reliance on online services along with new norms. This shift to online mode of work decreased the disparity between countries and increased the possibilities of global connectedness and learning. In the developed countries such as Australia, Europe and the USA, digital mode of education has been rehearsed since decades. Despite this trend, some of the higher education teachers perceived this sudden shift as a challenge or threat due to obliviousness with online teaching system (Daumiller et al. 2021 ). Unlike these countries, in developing countries where online learning is a new phenomenon, exploration of teachers’ perception is more pertinent especially during an emergency. This research approach may offer a model of preparation for online teaching in similar situations in other countries.

Pakistan is a developing country where a systematic and nationwide infrastructure for online teaching with facilities such as virtual classrooms is yet to be established. Distance education is primarily conducted through one large government university that has not completely adopted the online mode of teaching. The preparations to operate online programs during an emergency remained meager due to the greater prevalence of the face-to-face mode of education.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistani universities were forced to adopt online learning, and existing courses were modified for an online mode of delivery. This study focuses on Pakistan and, to draw meaningful insights, utilizes a qualitative analysis of the data collected from faculty members working in higher education. The significance of this study lies in providing insight into planning first-time online teaching especially in the developing countries.

The available literature focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the education sector in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries, and their challenges, constraints, and coping mechanisms (Judd et al. 2020 ; and Huber and Helm 2020 ). The studies focus on innovative strategies adopted by educational institutes for distance learning during this crisis (Bao 2020 ; Moorhouse 2020 ). Most of the literature available on online learning, educational challenges, and instructors’ experiences are based on regular situations and contexts wherein educational institutes were not compelled to shift to online learning and teaching (Ali and Ahmad 2011 ; Farid et al. 2015 ). Moreover, most of these studies focus on experiences that are collected from developed countries. Therefore, this paper attempts to shed light on the pedagogical knowledge and experience gained by teachers who are new to online teaching in a developing country like Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic (Conrad 2004 ; Rapanta et al. 2020 ).

2 Literature Review

The review of the literature covers studies that provide information about the response to the pandemic, primarily from China (Anderson 2020 ), comparative analysis from the universities of Hong Kong (Crawford et al. 2020 ), studies on the digital divide of schools in Europe (Verma et al. 2020 ), COVID-19-related studies, and other studies on policy development and curriculum during the pandemic (Sasot et al. 2020 ). In this backdrop, quality research focusing on the experiences of first-time online teachers in higher education is lacking. This section presents a review of the research on the experience and challenges of online pedagogy while providing a rationale for the present study. The interplay between the variables has provided the basis for the exploration of the online pedagogy of novice teachers.

2.1 Online Teaching and Learning Environment in Contrast to the Traditional Learning Environment

Online education focuses on providing a stimulating environment that is different from traditional education (Holly et al. 2008 ). Online pedagogical practices involve instant messaging platforms besides utilizing Learning Management Systems (LMS) (Moorhouse 2018 ).

It has unique challenges, such as lack of experience and preparation and institutional as well as technological challenges (Bao 2020 ). When Guskey’s ( 2000 ) perspective is applied, the shift to online learning requires the consideration of learner skills, including self-regulation, IT skills, workload management, blended learning awareness, gender, and age. Learners who are frustrated with technology often abandon the learning process (Hofmann 2014 ). The failure of learners in continuing their online education is linked to lack of family support and extensive workload (Park and Choi 2009 ). The learner satisfaction, among other factors, primarily determines the success of blended or online learning, and dissatisfaction can be a result of the learner’s inability to effectively utilize online modes. The lack of prompt feedback from instructors and poor student–teacher interaction is critical for learning (Islam 2014 ). Therefore, this experience is unlike live interaction, which facilitates and incorporates the exchange of feedback through dialog and positive gestures (Kelley and Gorham 1988 ).

2.2 Online Pedagogy and Relevant Domains

Online teaching is reported to increase the levels of work intensity that demands an instructor to have additional multiple roles like that of a facilitator, mentor, and a co-learner (De Gagne and Welters 2009 ). A study indicated that asynchronous communication was found to have links with in-depth communication, helping students move at their own pace and help them fulfill the learning outcomes (Tallent-Runnels et al. 2006 ). Another study has shown that teachers who have a minimum of two years of online teaching experience in nursing academia with a doctoral degree viewed teaching effectiveness, students’ success, quality indicators, and a dynamic role of the instructor as important domains, which led to the concept of dance within the online learning environment. Another concept, the intensive online learning environment , is also differentiated from the online learning environment based on the notion that it has increased dependency upon effective communication, technology, and its use for increased communication, and learning and feedback strategies in which the instructor’s importance is central (Roddy et al. 2017 ). Additionally, a concept known as integration in online teaching has a fundamental value in predicting the quality of learning outcomes as a result of preparation (Cosmas-Quinn 2011 ). Integration refers to the alignment of online tools with the requirements of the course. Notably, little attention has been directed toward the efforts of understanding online pedagogy in an emergency.

2.3 Correlates of the Effectiveness of Online Teaching

All the educational institutes were not reported to be technologically equipped for the online mode of teaching, and this led to learning setbacks (Binkley 2021 ). This also indicated the institution’s role in the effective implementation of online teaching model. The instructor’s role in adapting content for online learning is important, and the possibilities of success are lowered when instructors are habituated to face-to-face teaching (Kim et al. 2014 ). Course redesigning is a major challenge in online teaching, and this often becomes an intimidating experience for the untrained (Vitale 2010 ). Despite these challenges, the purpose of online teaching is to fulfill its goals without compromising on the quality of education (Conroy et al. 2020 ).

The socio-economic divide creates another educational challenge because a vast majority of students belong to technologically challenged areas and many of them come from low-income backgrounds which affirms that education is influenced by the digital divide (Strauss 2020 ). The universities have realized that they need to implement changes to support the instructional continuity by aiding online learning (Krishnamurthy 2020 ). Amidst all this, the role of the faculty is instrumental in using this online mode for the attainment of educational outcomes.

2.4 Global Research on Online Education During COVID-19

Numerous studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 on the education sector. A meta-analysis of 20 countries presented diverse results depending on geographical location, technological availability, and adaptability to this challenging situation. The findings indicated that developing countries faced greater challenges majorly due to unfamiliarity with online teaching and the lack of resources. Good practices such as online training for staff and students were reported in Hong Kong (Crawford et al. 2020 ). Peking University proposed instructional strategies to fulfill course objectives, such as making emergency plans to reach students with no or low internet connectivity, dividing the curriculum into smaller units, providing online assistance for workload management, improving student learning abilities outside the class; lastly, merging online and offline self-learning effectively (Bao 2020 ). A survey finding reported that about 172 executives from American universities expressed an increased concern on the mental health of students, faculty, and an accelerated trend of physical health issues of faculty, and a higher rate of students’ attrition linked to online teaching (Krishnamurthy 2020 ).

The findings of a study indicated the importance of social, cognitive, and facilitatory aspects in online teaching and the need to adapt the assessment modes when conducted by teachers with 10 years of online teaching experience (Rapanta et al. 2020 ). Furthermore, considering the novel emergency situation, the necessity of self-regulatory activities such as self-reflection and portfolios was emphasized.

Another study analyzed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic (Dhawan 2020 ). In addition to the strengths, such as location, flexibility, the availability of a wide range of content for different audiences, and opportunities to adopt innovative pedagogical approaches, weaknesses such as learners’ capabilities and confidence level, challenges related to digital literacy, unequal distribution of IT infrastructure, digital divide, and quality education were also reported. A study from the USA has also identified the pre-requisites for online teaching of student teachers in an early childhood practicum during the crisis brought about by COVID-19 (Kim 2020 ). Their experiences indicated three phases of online learning, i.e. preparation for teaching online, implementation including communication, teaching, supervision, and reflection on children and distance learning while instructing children.

3 Research on Online Teaching and Learning in Pakistan During COVID-19

Digital learning in Pakistan faces multi-faceted challenges. The biggest challenge includes internet accessibility, which seems to discriminate against students from marginalized communities and remote areas. Inclusivity is another challenge, as hearing-impaired students have reported difficulties in online learning (Manzoor 2020 ).

In Pakistan, educational institutes commonly use platforms such as Google Meet or Classroom, Learning Management Systems, Zoom, and YouTube as a part of the Distance Mode of Learning (Mukhtar et al. 2020 ). Certain issues, including privacy issues, lack of online technology, financial and technical issues, and most importantly, lack of family support and effective feedback, affect the curriculum implementation (Adnan and Anwar 2020 ; Bao 2020 ).

The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan formed aCOVID-19 Technology Support Committee to assist universities in creating distance learning guidelines (Mukhtar et al. 2020 ), but a strategic plan is still required.

Recent studies will contribute to enhancing the quality of online teaching. A qualitative study developed themes around the advantages, limitations, and recommendations of online teaching and learning by conducting interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study reported academic inefficiency as a limitation, teaching as a major area of focus, and assessment and quality as recommendations along with other advantages (Mukhtar et al. 2020 ). Similarly, another study showed the lack of preparedness and previous experience and the dissatisfaction of teachers with online learning as opposed to face-to-face teaching in the case of medical education, primarily due to the difficulty of teaching anatomy and clinical skills online (Aziz et al. 2020 ). According to the perspectives lack of face-to-face interaction with the instructor, response time, and the absence of a traditional method of education along with the lack of internet access made online education challenging (Adnan and Anwar 2020 ). This review indicated a dire need to explore the perceptions of the faculty teaching in various higher educational intuitions of Pakistan so that pedagogical methods for online teaching can be proposed for novice faculty and crises and emergencies and the scope of online teaching can be expanded beyond medical education or a single institution.

3.1 Online Teaching, Challenges, and Coping

The closing of educational institutes with poor adaptability to a new mode of education and lack of organization is likely to result in considerable stressful challenges. Students are reported to face multiple problems related to stress, depression, anxiety, unsupportive family, and poor connectivity issues. It was reported that 42% of the selected population in West Bengal suffered from stress, depression, and anxiety. The students from low-income backgrounds faced learning setbacks and stress due to financial and technological challenges (Kapasia et al. 2020 ), adding to the responsibility of the teacher to monitor online learning engagement (Manzoor 2020 ).

Additionally, online teaching is mainly instructor-centered, and this is more likely to cause increased psychological stress among the faculty (Murphy et al. 2011 ). The significant role of the teaching faculty and counselors in emotionally supporting students during times of crisis has been reported (James et al. 2011 ) along with the teachers’ impact on the effective learning of students (Snelling and Fingal 2020 ).

Owing to social isolation, students and teachers were reported to be at risk of developing mental health issues, including depression and suicidal behaviors. Stress coping mechanisms may help create a healthy teaching and learning environment. Filipino teachers channeled their anxiety into spending quality time with their family; using social media to interact with friends, office colleagues, and students; reading e-papers; and researching effective distance learning practices (Talidong, 2020 ). The resilience and the use of humor by individuals lowered anxiety, while mental disengagement served as the coping mechanism (Savitsky et al. 2020 ). Other coping strategies may include the improvement of online modes of education, implementation of a uniform policy, and better infrastructure. The creation of alternative approaches for a positive space that supports marginalized sections such as disabled individuals is also important (Kapasia et al. 2020 ; Manzoor 2020 ).

3.2 Theoretical Basis of Research

The approaches of instructional design (ID) and learning design (LD) are usually implicit in the process of face-to-face teaching as compared to online teaching where the use is quite explicit (Carr-Chellman 2015 ; Dijkstra et al. 1997 ; Kaburise 2014 ). For online learning design, approaches are different and rely on the techno-pedagogical design with an increased emphasis on learner’s engagement through creative solutions and interaction (Winters and Mor 2008 ) to meet the requirements of the learners (Partlow and Gibbs 2003 ; Parchoma et al. 2019 ). This makes the paradigm of constructivism applicable to online pedagogy (Taber 2011 ; Shah 2019 ). Notably, this online learner engagement is co-constructed within the larger socio-cultural influences and therefore provides a basis for exploration of lived experiences.

This study is qualitative and exploratory. It attempts to analyze the lived experiences of the higher education institutes HEI faculty members in Pakistan who were engaged in online teaching for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of information on this topic guided the utilization of the descriptive phenomenology (Creswell 2007 ). The descriptive phenomenology assisted the participants in articulating their observations, viewpoints, and the “lived experience” that were pertinent to online teaching (Creswell 2007 ; Colaizzi 1978 ).

4.2 Participants

4.2.1 sample.

Criterion-based sampling was used to select the participants for the study (Anjum et al. 2018 ). Eleven participants (HEI’s faculty) were interviewed for the study. The recruitment of participants continued until no novel themes in the data were identified, i.e. the data reached its point of saturation (Javadi and Zarea 2016 ).

4.2.2 Criteria for Inclusion

The criteria for the inclusion of the participants in the study were limited to university faculty engaging in online teaching for the first time in their teaching career during the COVID-19 pandemic. A minimum teaching experience of one year was considered important so that the participants had experience in face-to-face pedagogy. The participants were recruited through convenient sampling from 5 higher education institutes in Pakistan that fulfilled the aforementioned criteria. Table 1 shows the socio-demographic characteristics of the 11 participants.

4.3 Data Collection and Analysis

4.3.1 interview procedure.

A semistructured interview was used to explore the strengths and challenges of online teaching, the opportunities arising from online teaching, and the threats and risks involved based on the experience of the faculty. The study also examined the prevailing conditions of stress due to the transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research ethics were ensured. Written informed consent of the participants was taken after explaining the purpose of the study to them via text and e-mails. The confidentiality of the identities of the participants was maintained, and verbal consent was taken before recording. The interviews were conducted and recorded via telephone calls and Zoom. The questions were modified according to the flow of the conversation. The participants responded to questions such as the following:

What is your experience of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic?

How would you describe the strengths and challenges of online teaching?

Which resources helped you to overcome the challenges?

What opportunity does the transition to online teaching generate?

How have teaching practices evolved with the transition to online teaching?

At the end of each interview, the main points were summarized. Additional comments and feedback were incorporated. Each interview took around 40–60 min. Later, the audio recordings were transcribed, and the participants’ personal or university identity was excluded from the transcription.

To increase the credibility of the data collection process, a pilot interview was conducted (Forero et al. 2018 ). A stage-wise approach was taken for data collection and analysis. In the first stage, the participants were recruited and the mode and time of the interview were decided. In the second phase, the researcher explained the purpose of the interview to establish rapport with the participants. In the third phase, the interview was conducted.

4.3.2 The Procedure of Data Analysis

Braun and Clarke’s ( 2006 ) six-step model of thematic analysis was employed to gain deeper insight into the participants’ experience with the online teaching process. The thematic analysis was initiated shortly after the earlier interviews were conducted. In the first stage, the data were transcribed line by line and read at least twice to promote familiarity with it. Further, a reflective log was maintained. In the second stage, the data were coded using MS Word. Two researchers coded each transcribed interview to increase the credibility of the coding process (investigators triangulation). Further, an expert in the field assessed the coded transcripts (10% of the data) to exterminate researcher reflexivity and biases.

In the third stage, similar codes were grouped, and initial themes and mind maps were created through inductive thematic analysis (Thomas 2006 ). In the fourth stage, the themes formed were checked against the coded extracts to ensure a coherent pattern of themes with identifiable distinctions. A fellow researcher, who was blind of literature, independently developed a thematic map. The thematic map was finalized after extensive discussion (Gani et al. 2020 ).

In the fifth stage, peer debriefing sessions were conducted. In the final stage, the final write-up was completed while considering logical rationalities and the direct quotes from the participants to ensure the credibility of the findings. All these steps ensure the credibility, conformability, dependability, and transferability of the research (Nowell et al. 2017 ).

The findings indicated the impact of the transition to online education in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cultural-contextual and experiential issues provided a unique blend that engaged students at a certain level and in a certain way to execute the business with a short-term approach at the outset, with the long-term impacts deeply ingrained in the faculty’s mindset. Several areas indicate that content development and technology pose a challenge in online pedagogy for novice teachers in unique ways.

5.1 Emergent Themes

The inductive analysis of data led to five major emerging themes, including (a) culture and gender-related issues, (b) teaching effectiveness, (c) challenges in online teaching, (d) coping strategies, and (e) faculty’s post-COVID-19 perceptions. Each theme is significant, as it reflects the lived experience of the faculty teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5.1.1 Theme 1: Culture and Gender-Related Issues

Under this theme, the subthemes that emerge include support , privacy and protection , parents’ exposure and apprehension , and gender roles and expectations .

As a subtheme, support from family, colleagues, and peers was one of the significant social factors contributing to the mitigation of stress arising because of uncertainties during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, P4 explained that “On WhatsApp group, all the colleagues were supporting…helping with work-related things is essential.” P1, P7, P10, and P11 explained that active peer support was also advised among students for their mental wellbeing. For this purpose, students formed virtual groups and committees for interaction. P3 experienced a sense of teamwork and strong bond among students as they were more connected besides being in isolation.

The participants shared that the privacy and protection of data are beyond the responsibility of the institution. For instance, P2 expressed that: “it is overwhelming to share personal WhatsApp numbers and information about social media accounts…giving access to these mediums intrudes privacy.” As instructional channels are presently being digitized, privacy and protection are one of the leading concerns. P3 shared that using non-educational applications without knowing their privacy settings are dangerous. For instance, P6 reported security concerns: “cybersecurity……the glitches with the use of various apps are annoying…sudden popping up of inappropriate content and ads is problematic.” Participants (P1, P5, P6, and P10) expressed that privacy concerns are not only limited to the sharing of personal information online. In fact, many students find it inconvenient to share videos because the sessions are being recorded, and they keep their audios muted. Students, especially those from underprivileged areas where the families have no concept of online teaching, are reluctant to show their study space at home. Not sharing videos or minimum participation in the discussion makes the class less interactive.

In this context, parents' exposure and apprehension play a pivotal role. About 70% of the participants reported that the parents discussed openly how online teaching will meet the standards of education provided in the university. P3, P7, and P9 reported that parents are apprehensive about the jobs their children will get after distance education. P9 expressed this issue in detail: “the presence of the teacher in the class gives a direction to the students. Parents were satisfied that their children are going to the university, and now, the university is closed, so parents do not know where their children are heading in their practical life, … parents were found to be worried about their children’s jobs after getting this kind of online learning.”

Gender roles and expectations are amplified when teachers work from home. All the female participants reported that household chores and family expectations increased massively during the lockdown. They reported that while working from home, they are supposed to look after their kids and the adults at home during working hours. Other cultural and gendered stereotypes such as household chores being taken care of mostly by female teachers along with their online classes created additional responsibilities during working hours. One of the female participants said that she would “finish household work before online class time…still; children come up for petty things…” The study revealed that male participants did not experience any dual roles or responsibilities while working from home.

5.1.2 Theme 2: Teaching Effectiveness

The participants stated that teaching effectiveness served as the core function of online teaching. Various factors contributed to making online teaching efficient, which is reflected through three subthemes: teacher characteristics (sensitivity, flexibility, and self-efficacy), establishing differentiated instructions , and instructional continuity .

All the participants shared teacher characteristics and reported that teacher sensitivity was integral for the continuation of education and learning after the emergency closing of institutes. The teacher’s sensitivity was exhibited in their understanding that they would need to work beyond the regular hours and typical work patterns. They demonstrated a flexible attitude to learning technology, readiness to adapt to changes, and a feeling of self-efficacy. In terms of flexibility, all the participants reported the convenience of preparing and recording lectures at any time of the day. Participant 1 shared that they “make videos during the free time…more hours to prepare lectures, upload lectures even late at night.” Likewise, participant P6 believed that “online teaching helps in planning and delivering lectures more conveniently.”

Participant 8 emphasized that in addition to flexibility in preparing lectures, the faculty should be able to plan the assessment modes for the courses they teach, which indicates their increased sensitivity to the online mode of assessments. Some participants, especially P9 and P11, expressed “how difficult it is to manage a number of courses…more flexibility is needed in giving deadlines.” According to the participants, although their readiness to learn technology was evident, it depended on their faith in their self-efficacy, which was linked to their previous experience. For example, a participant shared that it took him 10 days to successfully identify and select the appropriate apps and virtual tools for use in online lectures. Later, however, he was confidently able to create links and integrate course pages and materials. Some senior faculty members, such as participant 8, showed their reservations: “not ready…university is not ready… students are also not ready.”

In response to the transition to online teaching due to COVID-19, the data suggested that the faculty successfully customized and differentiated their modes of instructions. For example, P1, P2, P4, and P11 shared that they formed groups of students for their online classes. The purpose was to have an open, interactive, connected, and communicative learning process. Participant 9 also shared her experience with online teaching by using differentiated instruction techniques . She managed to sift through all the study resources based on the academic level of the students. The faculty members who were engaged in teaching different levels of students had a clear general understanding of how to align the instructions and teaching techniques with different needs at different levels. The understanding of the suitability of instructions to the student needs was more evident in the case of faculty members who were teaching only undergraduate courses. For example, this is apparent from the narrative of one of the participants: “teaching to a graduating batch …uploaded a lot of articles to read before coming to the class. However, for a junior class, just uploaded the PowerPoint slide.”

For instructional continuity , the role of both the university and the faculty was reported to be on the same grid. All the participants appreciated the role of the university in the continuation of education even during the global emergency. The general feeling of instructional continuity was satisfactory, and they perceived that the shift to online teaching was helpful for the instructional continuity. For example, P5 explained that the students were “now becoming more independent learners…adequate timeline, guidelines, and planning will yield effective results for the transition to virtual teaching.” Likewise, P3 expressed that: “universities in Pakistan have officially decided to proceed with their learning via online teaching…this transition was successfully addressed with institutional support.” By realizing their responsibility and support, they offered great support for the instructional continuity. Three participants shared that they are primarily responsible for addressing their students’ issues while seeking support from the university and innovatively using all available resources. According to participant 10: “for students having connectivity issues, ‘Taleem Bundle’ was created under departmental supervision. Offline Mode of content delivery was made possible to ensure accessibility for every student.” Similar views were reported by P11 who stated that it was decided that lectures would be recorded and uploaded different platforms, such as YouTube and Zoom. It was further decided that CDs should be made for those who do not have access to these platforms.

5.1.3 Theme 3: Challenges in Online Teaching

Under this theme, the subthemes that emerge are training needs, teaching stress, and student engagement .

All the participants emphasized that the appropriate training needs of the faculty should be met to transfer knowledge efficiently. Few participants perceived accessibility to various resources as a challenge. For instance, P7 reported that the “sharing of psychological tests and its manual is against the rules of the department. There is no access to it online as well. The sharing of similar material is a big challenge, and it causes a great hindrance in completing the course work.” Additionally, P11 highlighted that the concerned universities should formulate policies with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to ensure unlimited access to the digital library for both teachers and students. Similarly, the teacher should have access to multiple cost-effective training and teaching tools. This is mandatory for transitioning to online teaching smoothly. Another integral challenge related to this was the limited accessibility of students to online teaching due to weak internet connectivity across the country and the limited availability of gadgets due to affordability. P1, P2, P8, and P9 expressed that lack of resources in the remote areas has created a major hindrance in initiating online education.

An important factor related to the delivery of online lectures is teaching stress . The faculty reported some key factors that contributed to their stress during online teaching, including challenges in managing content, records, and time; engaging students in the learning process; and maintaining work–life balance. For instance, P3 shared that using different apps and devices and combining multiple apps for content preparation and delivery was stressful at the beginning. It was hard for him to make many videos and select the content. Teaching stress was also found to be linked with time management and work–life balance. For instance, P5 clearly expressed that most of the time, his household chores and online classes overlapped, and due to lockdown, it was difficult to manage both simultaneously. Another challenge was the presence of too many students in a class. P4 shared that “it is difficult to schedule an online class with a large number of students…to convey time and date, etc.” P6 shared similar concerns regarding evaluation: “whether the content is being shared with all the students and the lecture is being comprehended by all…it is difficult to follow up with everyone due to a large group.” Only about 20% of the faculty showed serious concern for the uncertainty related to social grooming and acquiring skills for employability. For instance, P4 expressed that through online teaching, some important aspects cannot be met: “inculcating social skills, networking, and relevant employability skills appear to be difficult now…students do not give presentations in online teaching, they do not liaise with different people from the industry, and these important soft skills cannot be taught online.”

Regarding student engagement , the participants shared that the students’ attention decreases with time, making it difficult to get them involved in the lecture. Participant 6 reported that his basic interest remains in adapting and designing his online course to motivate and generate interest among students. Similarly, P11 explained that in online pedagogy, teachers have to ensure that the lessons are more interactive and interesting to the students and convince them to remain glued to the screen. Finally, the participants also highlighted that a lack of prior experience contributed to online teaching stress. Moreover, the faculty was new to this experience. Participants P1, P6, and P7 particularly pointed out that due to little exposure to online lecture delivery, several complexities emerged in terms of designing, structuring, and organizing the course modules, making sessions interactive, and identifying augmented resources and tools. In this regard, previous experiences were perceived to be helpful. Some faculty members, such as P3 and P11, shared that they delivered online lectures on a trial-and-error basis. Internet accessibility issues contributed further to this challenge.

5.1.4 Theme 4: Coping Strategies

The subthemes that emerge under coping strategies include cognitive connections and pedagogical and technological adaptation .

In terms of cognitive connections , instead of developing a major cognitive shift, the ongoing teaching methodology was shifted online. However, the transition to online teaching created some doubts about the shift from the instructional designs practiced in the traditional classroom. P3 explained that the faculty members were mindful of not bringing drastic changes into their teaching practices so that they and their students could cope with the new teaching instructions. In this regard, the comments of P7 and P11 were very convincing. P7 mentioned that “having a cognitive understanding of my students’ learning approach, it was not required of me to go for a major cognitive shift by introducing an entirely different way of teaching…a familiar teaching method with some modification was required to meet the needs for synchronous and asynchronous learning.” Likewise, P11 expressed: “the lecture format and teaching method should be familiar to all students, like what they have already experienced during regular classes in the university.”

Another important aspect of pedagogical and technological adaptation that P7 figured out was the adoption of synchronous and asynchronous modes of instruction. P3 further added that emails and WhatsApp groups were more efficient platforms for the asynchronous mode of instruction: “WhatsApp and emails require less data and are user friendly…can be accessed at any time. This asynchronous mode has helped a lot….”For case studies as course content, P3 and P11 adopted pedagogical methods, such as providing prompts, focused discussions, identifying misunderstandings, reaching consensus in discussions, summarizing the topics, and validating the understanding of the content via immediate and quick assessments and feedbacks. Other participants (for example, P4 and P6) reported the reinforcement of students’ roles through group discussions and by practicing chunks of the flipped classroom by uploading the study materials on LMS in advance for discussion purposes. About 20% of the participants reported that MS Teams assisted them by providing technological support. P10 highlighted the importance of learning different technologies and learned advanced technologies appropriate for his courses. For example, he used YouTube’s open transcript option to read and copy the lecture transcript. Similarly, P11 also reported that he focused on using Zoom classrooms innovatively, such as the locking of the Zoom classroom once the discussion has started, screen sharing, polls, question and answer session, optimized light, reduced sounds, and the display of all the relevant links and materials in the chat section, etc.

5.1.5 Theme 5: Faculty’s Post-COVID-19 Perceptions

The subthemes that emerge in this theme include increased collaboration , enhanced professional development, and the opportunity for blended learning .

The most important aspect was the increased collaboration among faculty members. The faculty reported that online teaching showed an increased collaboration among different schools and universities at both the national and international levels, among researchers, and so on. P3 stated: “online teaching provides potential prospects to connect the online knowledge hub…irrespective of the community’s geographical locations.” Likewise, P5 explained that online teaching facilitates intellectual relationships at the national and international levels, assists teachers in developing new modules based on those already developed by the virtual campuses of other institutions. P11 highlighted the importance of collaboration among community schools and universities. He reported that they developed an entirely new education system and implemented it effectively by collaborating with existing small networks such as jazz smart schools.

The importance of enhanced professional development should also be highlighted. Some participants (P1, P4, P5, P6, and P10) believed the post-COVID-19 educational system has opened avenues for professional development in terms of the enhancement of research skills; the adoption of modern, creative, and innovative pedagogical practices; the use of modern technology and accurate tools; the integration of technology with traditional teaching styles; and the acquiring of skills essential for digital literacy and the online education system. Additionally, P3 explained that they use podcasts, webinars, and lectures from international professionals and the industry. In post-COVID-19 perceptions, the potential for blended learning was clear. As reported by P6, the participants anticipate a rapid growth in blended education as a mode of instruction in higher education. Other participants foresee the transition to online teaching as an opportunity to introduce a blended mode of education in Pakistan. P10 expressed that blended learning is a good option and the physical classroom must be replaced with online classrooms, and a mix of learning tools can be used by keeping online classes and sharing lecture details via emails. Within the model of blended learning, the importance of educational apps such as YouTube to reach students in remote areas was also emphasized (Fig.  1 ).

Thematic map displaying themes and subthemes of first-time online teaching experience of university teachers during COVID-19 pandemic

6 Discussion

The findings identified that the psychological, educational, and socio-cultural aspects are related to the realm of the psychological, educational, and socio-cultural aspects in times of global emergency. The data are unique, as it was solicited during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. The mitigation of the stress caused by COVID-19 was noted at the time of interviews taken (June and July 2020), and this may be one of the reasons that the faculty could talk in detail the about psycho-social and educational experiences of online teaching with a little focus on direct stress caused by COVID-19.

The intricate analysis of the data shows that online teaching effectiveness is linked to the faculty member’s characteristics. They were challenged by the content and technology management, lack of previous online teaching experience, lack of systematic approaches, and cultural and gender-related issues, and consequently, low student engagement was experienced which was of a temporary or a superficial nature.

Adaptation and adjustment have been observed both on part of the teachers and students, especially in cases where the emphasis was laid on online teaching. They provided a perspective that resonates with the differentiated instruction for using online mode for the post-COVID-19 era. During the interviews, the faculty showed motivation for online teaching. They participated fully and this indicates the lack of resistance, openness, and flexibility to adapt to this new model. These generic findings will be discussed in detail along with a comparison with the previous literature.

6.1 Teaching Effectiveness

The findings indicate that the faculty have realized their role in online teaching effectiveness. Through their rigorous online teaching experience two months before the interview, they developed stronger self-efficacy and showed readiness to teach online. However, for the senior faculty, pedagogy was more important than utilizing multiple modern technological tools. The faculty with over 10 years of teaching experience focused on translating traditional teaching methods to online teaching so that students do not struggle with major cognitive shifts. They also emphasized the role of the institute or university in making this experience a continuous learning experience for the students. They valued the importance of training for both faculty and students and the differentiated use of technology for senior and junior students.

However, their first-time use of online teaching seems to have had limitations when their perspective of teaching effectiveness was viewed in connection with the previous literature. The focus of the faculty remained upon immediate teaching and learning issues, and they demonstrated a lack of focus on student learning as an outcome of the online teaching, which has been previously investigated in different contexts. Our findings on the factors leading to teaching effectiveness were similar to a previous study that reported the importance of teachers in connecting, leading, and working in congruence with students in online classes, but in our study, the connection was seldom made with a view of student success (Ni 2013 ).

There may be several reasons for this deviation. First, this study was conducted in a real-time situation rather than taking an experimental design on online teaching, which might be more appropriate for investigating the relation of online teaching with student learning outcomes. Second, the faculty’s sensitivity to the situation might be a factor that decreases their focus on outcomes while increasing their focus on the process of learning. Third, their cultural understanding of lack of internet access for all the students as a major challenge might have prevented them from focusing on outcomes more than learning processes. Fourth, the process of learning was only considered to be an indicator of effective learning. However, this can only be considered as speculation. A study on online teaching experience in a non-pandemic situation with faculty having extensive relevant experience may be conducted to validate these findings.

6.2 Stress and Coping Methods in Online Teaching

The findings of this study reveal a few sources of stress in online teaching which are common to those already reported in face-to-face teaching. A previous study has identified huge workloads and lack of resources as causes of stress even among the high school teachers (Austin et al. 2005 ). This high workload is indicative of a disruptive work-life balance and issues in time management.

The management of content and records as well as student engagement were also reported as key sources of stress. Several factors are at play here. The first-time online teaching experience itself could be a reason for low student engagement. The cultural context with internet accessibility issues and the lack of previous exposure/experience with the online world of teaching and learning could be another reason for the low student engagement. In addition to the peripheral variables that contribute to the low student engagement, the faculty noticed that the students had low motivation because of a lack of exposure to the self-paced learning model.

A sudden shift from face-to-face teaching to the online mode with a lack of content preparation could have led to a lack of focus on increasing student engagement by taking into consideration the established practices in the online world of teaching and learning. The focus of the entire learning environment to train teachers for increasing student engagement also remained low as the focus seemed to be on creating a system of online teaching and learning. However, the data shows that private universities invested in streamlining online education in an emergency, and this was perceived as systemic support.

Previous studies indicate that there are certain methods of engaging students in an online teaching and learning process which might be learned and adapted for online pedagogy. A study has shown that online undergraduate student engagement can be the result of a peer support community, engaging teachers, and factors such as workload and course design (Farrell and Bruton 2020 ). It is noteworthy that the online engagement experiences in these studies have been recorded for a longer duration, such as a maximum period of around one year. In the Pakistani context, two months of online teaching experience before the conducting of interviews may not be sufficient for the faculty to help them assimilate and contemplate fully on strategies for increasing student engagement in online learning. Similarly, a previous study has also supported the importance of meaningful and multiple ways of interacting with students (Dixson 2010 ), which could not be very well planned because of the unexpected change of teaching mode, lack of previous experience, and internet accessibility issues.

A review of the stress coping techniques on the part of the faculty indicates that they responded by acknowledging the change and the dire need to engage technologically in meaningful ways. They incorporated technology into their teaching, adapted the content, and offered or received support. However, their focus on strategic and research-based plans for enhancing student engagement was meager, and they focused only on resolving immediate sources of stress.

6.3 Challenges

The faculty linked the issues of online teaching with cultural issues and the conversion of all kinds of course content to the online mode, despite the fact the course demanded practical work, e.g., laboratory work, hands on activities, and group activities. Therefore, our findings are close to the previous online teaching experience which is reported to have faced content development issues. Content development can be a great challenge for online teaching but the modification of the existing curriculum to the online mode seems to be challenged by the access to the digital resource, limited accessibility of students, and large classes. Therefore, rather than content development (Kebritchi et al. 2017 ), the ability to reach all the students was perceived as a challenge.

Instead of developing suitable content for the online mode, it was adapted and therefore, the long-term development of content was considered as another challenge. It is interesting to note that the development of the skills for employability and the labor market, rather than student learning outcomes, were perceived as challenging by the teachers. Their focus remained on skill development which indicates their long-term perspective.

Additionally, content accessibility was influenced by systemic issues. The sharing of materials such as manuals and tests was not possible either due to organizational permissions required or the extensive procedure of issuing such tests, and it was possible only in the face-to-face mode. The teachers were found to be unable to resolve this matter on their own. Therefore, it can be inferred from the data that all subjects and all kinds of content cannot be satisfactorily adapted for the online mode. This is also in line with the previous study that revealed the importance of socio-cultural methods for the creation of a culture that facilitates understanding and sharing (Hunt and Tickner 2015 ). Our findings also corroborate the previous study that emphasized culturally sensitive enhanced communication and increased efforts to accommodate cultural differences (Parrish and Linder-VanBerschot 2010 ), which might be observed less in a context where online teaching was implemented for the first time and at a large scale.

6.4 Faculty’s’ Post-COVID-19 Perceptions

The faculty showed their eagerness to quickly adapt to the online mode of teaching. Moreover, they realized the global demands of the era. Their adaptability, flexibility, and sensitivity to the importance of the online mode of teaching for the future were evident through their perspectives on the importance of blended mode of teaching in the post-COVID-19 era. The faculty showed willingness to adopt an online mode of teaching and learning despite the huge workloads and restricted resources as source of stress. These findings are unique in a context where online teaching was not a trend before the pandemic, and despite psychological, educational, and cultural challenges, teachers were prepared to utilize this mode in the future strategically. During these earlier stages of such conceptions, training opportunities for online teaching were perceived to be a factor that is crucial for the success of this endeavor.

6.5 A Comparison to COVID-19 Literature

The findings of this study go beyond the previous research on first-time online personal teaching experience (Conrad 2004 ; Qamar 2020 ) by bringing developing online teaching pedagogy for a faculty that is new to this technology by connecting variables such as content adaptation/development, student engagement, cultural issues, and the interplay of these within the socio-cultural context.

6.6 General Observations

It was observed that senior teachers focused more on content adaptation while younger teachers focused heavily on the adaptation of technology. For female teachers, the work-life balance was a greater challenge when compared to their male counterparts. This might be due to the multiple demanding roles of female teachers and a greater number of household responsibilities when they work from home. The trial-and-error method of teaching and the online teaching experience itself made the faculty aware of the importance of online teaching, associated challenges, and the role of larger socio-cultural variables that carry a heavy influence.

7 Conclusions and Implications

There is a congruence between the psycho-educational and contextual issues faced by the Pakistani faculty engaged in online teaching. The findings support the Community of Inquiry Model of online education theories, which bring the learning experience to the center of social presence, cognitive presence, and teaching presence—an awareness necessary for effective teaching (Picciano 2017 ). Additionally, a unique experience was construed under the given circumstances. However, the faculty found the experience to be deeply challenging in areas such as developing content technology, maintaining the pedagogy balance, and engaging students. The results explicitly demonstrate the relation between teaching experience and the perceptions of online pedagogy. The first-time experience of online teaching in a crisis has obvious limitations in reaching its true pedagogical spirits, where the theoretical notions of dance in online teaching , online intensive environment , and integration could not be achieved to engage students meaningfully in the learning process.

The findings provide a direction toward further exploration of online teaching pedagogy to enhance students’ engagement, academic effectiveness, and personal development with the enhanced data. Despite the limited sample and data collected only with qualitative approach in a minimal time frame during the first wave of pandemic; the findings may contribute to the enhancement of online teaching theories of effectiveness during catastrophe and may also support the design of training modules for faculty who would undertake online teaching initiatives in emergencies. Researching on first online teaching experiences by including a larger and more diverse sample may help in developing sound models of work ready to tackle emergencies. A policy on online teaching methods to enhance student engagement can also be drafted at the HEI level to support a smooth transition.

Data Availability

Data and analyses reports prepared by researchers are available for review. Thematic maps developed at various stages and reflexive notes can be shared along with the data.

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Abid, T., Zahid, G., Shahid, N. et al. Online Teaching Experience during the COVID-19 in Pakistan: Pedagogy–Technology Balance and Student Engagement. Fudan J. Hum. Soc. Sci. 14 , 367–391 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-021-00325-7

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Received : 03 September 2020

Accepted : 28 May 2021

Published : 06 June 2021

Issue Date : September 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-021-00325-7

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Challenges of Online Medical Education in Pakistan During COVID-19 Pandemic

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Biochemistry, Sir Syed Medical College for Girls, Karachi, Pakistan.
• 2 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
• 3 Department of Training and Medical Education, Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
• PMID: 32723456
• DOI: 10.29271/jcpsp.2020.Supp1.S67

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected economy, social life, and educational services all around the globe. Medical colleges and universities are facing challenges to provide quality education to their students during this prolonged period of lockdown. Technologically advanced countries have systems in place for e-learning and online medical education. This is not the case with most of the low-income countries like Pakistan. Here, we describe the challenges being faced by medical faculty members and students in Pakistan while engaging in online medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. These include lack of faculty training and institutional support, internet connectivity issues, maintaining student engagement, online assessments, and problems with understanding the unique dynamics of online education. A collaborative approach involving all stakeholders, intuitional support, use of free online training resources, and out of box thinking can help overcome these challenges. Key Words: Analysis, E-learning, Coronavirus, Developing countries, Solutions.

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