Abstract
This minor dissertation aimed to investigate the perceptions of FET STEM teachers in transitioning to online teaching during the Covid-19 lockdown. The study used the case study research design method to conduct an analysis and develop an in-depth understanding of the FET STEM teachers’ perceptions in transitioning to online teaching. Twelve FET STEM educators were purposely chosen to participate in the study. This provided information and a better understanding of the experiences that educators had with transitioning to online teaching during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The theoretical framework that underpinned this study was the Social Capital Theory which sought to provide a deep understanding of the importance of digital technologies in online instruction settings for building social capital and constructing new knowledge. As the study was qualitative, structured interviews were used as a data collection method. Thereafter, thematic analysis was used to analyse data collected from the structured interviews conducted with the selected educators.
The findings of the study revealed that most educators did not receive any training to use technological tools in their lessons. Therefore, they struggled with the transition to online teaching. It was also revealed that some educators found online tools to be effective because learners had access to their learning material at any given time, despite their geographical location. Hence, they continue with extra online lessons.
Furthermore, the data revealed that the challenges that were faced by the participants were not only limited to the implementation of technological tools but also included loadshedding, which resulted in poor connection for some and no connection at all for others. This made it very difficult for the educators to be on par with the annual teaching plan.
KEYWORDS: Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Further Education and Training (FET), Covid-19, Lockdown, Learning technologies, Online teaching, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Implementation, Effectiveness.