Moroccan Higher Education in Times of Crisis: a Phenomenographical Analysis of Teachers Experiences with Emergency Remote Teaching

Abstract

With the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) has abruptly become the mainstream activity in higher education institutions globally. While, in such turbulent times, this mode of instruction has unarguably imposed itself as a lifeline for education continuity, serious concerns remain about faculty preparedness for this massive shift, especially in educational context where online teaching is still in its embryonic stage. This paper reports on a phenomenographical study examining Moroccan university teachers’ experience with ERT and its impact and implications on their instructional quality and post-pandemic practice. Data were collected, using focus group discussions, from a purposive sample involving 36 university teachers from four higher education institutions. Despite some variance in the respondents’ experiences, the findings clearly indicate that teachers were prematurely immersed in online teaching with very little institutional supportive action. Based on the data, teachers faced various and overwhelming challenges significantly hampering their overall online pedagogical responsiveness. Importantly, teachers’ experience with ERT has not exposed their urgent need for professional development in the area of online delivery, but also triggered major changes in their mindset especially in relation to post-pandemic technological acceptance and use.