Adaptations and challenges of hybrid teaching in times of post-election demonstrations in Mozambique (2024)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has imposed major adversities, requiring changes in teaching and learning practices, as well as the expansion of remote teaching. This experience served as knowledge for the adoption of the hybrid teaching strategy, which combines face-to-face and remote classes with the use of digital information and communication technologies. Since the announcement of the results of the general elections, Mozambique has been experiencing a climate of tension, marked by protests that include the stoppage of car traffic, the closure of shops and educational institutions. In order to continue the teaching and learning process during this period, institutions have had to reinvent themselves. This study was conducted from a descriptive, case study perspective, to find out about the technological, economic and infrastructural adaptations and challenges faced by students at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) located in the city of Maputo, in order to maintain the learning of content during the period when face-to-face activities were suspended as a result of the post-election protests. In order to carry out the research, a questionnaire was drawn up and sent to the students at the institution, with a total of 210 subjects taking part in the study. The results show that hybrid teaching, in the context of the post-election demonstrations, was deficient and, as a consequence, did not promote equal and meaningful learning of knowledge by the students. This was due to the limited use of technological resources and, above all, the lack of internet access, which meant that the students' presence, even in virtual classes, was irrelevant, thus damaging the teaching-learning process.