Optometry Educators' Teaching Experiences and Opportunities Pre-, During, and Post-COVID-19 in South Africa.

IF 1.4 Q3 OPHTHALMOLOGY Clinical Optometry Pub Date : 2024-09-25 eCollection Date: 2024-01-01 DOI:10.2147/OPTO.S467899

Thokozile Ingrid Metsing, Tuwani Adelaide Rasengane, Sanele Buthelezi

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Abstract

Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the higher education sector worldwide, and South Africa has faced unique challenges that continue to influence teaching beyond the pandemic.

Purpose: The study investigated the South African optometry educators' teaching experiences and opportunities pre-, during, and post-COVID-19.

Methods: The proposed study design was explorative and quantitative. Convenience sampling was used in recruiting participants. Optometry educators from four (4) universities training optometrists in South Africa were invited to participate in the study. An anonymous online questionnaire designed by the researchers was sent to participants to ensure that it captured relevant data. The questionnaire was sent electronically to the participants and SPSS was used to analyze collected data.

Results: Face-to-face (F2F) teaching was found to be the preferred method pre-COVID-19 by all participants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the F2F was not the teaching method of choice due to safety measures put in place by the government. Online learning (OL) was preferred by 80% (n=4), and blended methods by 100%, due to flexibility in terms of lecture time allocation and digital device infrastructure. A statistically significant satisfaction was indicated by the academics before and post-COVID-19 pandemic with p=0.04 and p=0.02 respectively. The dissatisfaction related to online and blended methods of teaching used during the COVID-19 pandemic could be attributed to a lack of preparedness and digital device infrastructure. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic participants raised concerns related to the lack of personal interaction and challenges of self-discipline required for online learning including face-to-face lectures.

Conclusion: Post the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a need to address challenges related to the training of optometry educators in using online (OL) and blended methods (BM) of teaching, especially for those with more than 20 years of teaching experience. Whilst OL and BMs are beneficial, F2F teaching should not be neglected as it remains the cornerstone of effective education in optometry, especially in clinical training.

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南非验光教育工作者在 COVID-19 前后和期间的教学经验和机会。

目的：本研究调查了南非验光教育工作者在 COVID-19 之前、期间和之后的教学经验和机会：拟议的研究设计是探索性和定量的。在招募参与者时采用了便利抽样法。来自南非四（4）所培养验光师的大学的验光教育工作者应邀参加了研究。研究人员设计了一份匿名在线问卷，并将其发送给参与者，以确保问卷能收集到相关数据。问卷以电子方式发送给参与者，并使用 SPSS 对收集到的数据进行分析：所有参与者都认为面对面（F2F）教学是 COVID-19 前的首选方法。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，由于政府采取的安全措施，F2F 并不是首选的教学方法。由于授课时间分配和数字设备基础设施方面的灵活性，80%（n=4）的学员选择了在线学习（OL），100%的学员选择了混合式教学方法。COVID-19大流行之前和之后，学者们的满意度分别为p=0.04和p=0.02，具有统计学意义。对 COVID-19 大流行期间使用的在线和混合教学方法不满意的原因可能是缺乏准备和数字设备基础设施。在 COVID-19 大流行之后，学员们对在线学习（包括面对面授课）所需的缺乏人际互动和自律挑战提出了担忧：COVID-19大流行之后，仍有必要解决眼视光教育工作者在使用在线（OL）和混合式（BM）教学方法方面所面临的培训挑战，尤其是那些拥有20年以上教学经验的眼视光教育工作者。虽然在线教学和混合式教学方法很有益处，但也不应忽视面授教学，因为面授教学仍是有效开展验光教育的基石，尤其是在临床培训方面。

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来源期刊

Clinical Optometry OPHTHALMOLOGY-

CiteScore

3.00

自引率

5.90%

发文量

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： Clinical Optometry is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on clinical optometry. All aspects of patient care are addressed within the journal as well as the practice of optometry including economic and business analyses. Basic and clinical research papers are published that cover all aspects of optics, refraction and its application to the theory and practice of optometry. Specific topics covered in the journal include: Theoretical and applied optics, Delivery of patient care in optometry practice, Refraction and correction of errors, Screening and preventative aspects of eye disease, Extended clinical roles for optometrists including shared care and provision of medications, Teaching and training optometrists, International aspects of optometry, Business practice, Patient adherence, quality of life, satisfaction, Health economic evaluations.