Educational transmogrification: from panicgogy to pedagogy of compassion

Abstract

This qualitative case study set out to explore how the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced the educational practice of academics, using this moment as a new perspective to illuminate broader, enduring issues such as how will approaches to university education that have emerged in response to the pandemic lead to lasting changes? What is the likely impact of these changes on the dominant forms of university education that we will see in the future? Findings reveal a transitioning from panicgogy to pedagogy of compassion. There appeared to be a shift to an interest on human suffering and social justice. An ethic of care and pedagogy of compassion seemed to foreground the practice of many academics, which moved education beyond curriculum and educational strategies to cultivate social capital and equal life chances for all. These insights hold valuable implications for changes on the dominant forms of university education in the future.

Towards an e-learning ecologies approach to pedagogy in a post-COVID world

“…Two critical features of teaching online are worthy of consideration: one is the experiences of digital inequality that accompanied ERT; and the other is the mode of traditional curriculum delivery that characterised ERT. Vandeyar (2021) and Fataar (2020, June 11) described how university lecturers and school teachers respectively adapted to meet the novel challenges associated with ERT. What emerged among educators was an account of a pedagogy of care in vulnerable school circumstances (Fataar 2020), mention of responsive humanising pedagogies by university lecturers (Strydom et al, 2020), and a description by Vandeyar (2021) of lecturers infusing their ERT with the cultivation of care, compassion, and social capital among their students.…”

“…Vandeyar (2021) and Fataar (2020, June 11) described how university lecturers and school teachers respectively adapted to meet the novel challenges associated with ERT. What emerged among educators was an account of a pedagogy of care in vulnerable school circumstances (Fataar 2020), mention of responsive humanising pedagogies by university lecturers (Strydom et al, 2020), and a description by Vandeyar (2021) of lecturers infusing their ERT with the cultivation of care, compassion, and social capital among their students. Calling attention to the "multiple and coexisting forms of inequality in higher education," Czerniewicz et al (2020) emphasised the caring and collaborative relations between staff and students.…”

Scaffolding Self-Regulation in an Online English Language Course: Utility of Contract Learning

“…Shifting to synchronous and asynchronous technology-enhanced online learning environments offers a host of opportunities, such as greater flexibility in attending classes. It also comes with the corollary of reduced interaction between the teacher and the student, a lack of structured and fixed timetables (Broadbent, 2017), an elevated sense of anxiety in academics and instructors (Vandeyar, 2021), and the challenges of digital availability and equality (Dhawan, 2020). These challenges can be exacerbated, especially during a pandemic when online education becomes the only option for many universities.…”

Cura Personalis during COVID-19: Student and Faculty Perceptions of the Pedagogy of Compassion

“…In response, teachers adopted an Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) approach, in which what used to be face-to-face lectures were delivered instead using video conferencing or other contextually appropriate platforms. ERT is sometimes called "panicology," a conjunction of "pedagogy" and "panic" (Vandeyar, 2021), to denote the haste with which the change in mode occurred and the anxiety it caused. ERT and its accompanying panicology highlighted the need for schools to rethink the way teaching and learning took place online.…”

“…In terms of academic practice, teachers took a more motivational, generous, forgiving, and patient tone with their students, paying attention to individuals' unique circumstances (Vandeyar, 2021). Teachers strove to maintain a strong presence through timely posts on online discussion fora (Christopher, Tantillo, & Watson, 2020).…”