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Teaching during COVID-19: faculty members’ perceptions during and after an “exceptional” semester

Laura Zizka (Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne//HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Lausanne, Switzerland)
Gaby Probst (School of Management-Fribourg//HESSO, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Fribourg/Freiburg, Switzerland)

Journal of International Education in Business

ISSN: 2046-469X

Article publication date: 9 April 2021

Issue publication date: 23 September 2022

538

Abstract

Purpose

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in March 2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide were confronted with creating online courses to complete the semester. While emphasizing positive elements such as flexibility and innovative solutions, the literature focused on numerous faculty problems such as online fatigue, emotional well-being and stress. This paper aims to explore faculty perceptions of teaching during the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

Two surveys, in the first week and at the end of the semester, were conducted at a business school in Switzerland via the program Lima. A total of 19 faculty members participated in the survey. Of the participants, 56.7% responded in the first survey and 70.9% responded in the second.

Findings

The findings revealed that the faculty’s impressions of their online courses remained positive. The most significant issue cited was time. According to faculty estimations, more than ten additional hours per week were spent preparing for online courses. Nonetheless, many faculty members reported interest in continuing online practices in their future courses.

Practical implications

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed HEIs to embrace the digital revolution while teaching in a competence-oriented mode. However, moving forward, HEIs must mitigate the long-term effects by careful planning and evaluating their digital readiness as an institution and offering training for their faculty and students when necessary.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the existing literature by analyzing one stakeholder group, i.e. faculty members, and their perceptions of teaching during a worldwide pandemic.

Keywords

Citation

Zizka, L. and Probst, G. (2022), "Teaching during COVID-19: faculty members’ perceptions during and after an “exceptional” semester", Journal of International Education in Business, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 202-220. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-12-2020-0099

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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