Covid-19 and Teacher Preparation for Learners with Disabilities: The Need for Divergent Praxis

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Mncdisi Christian Maphalala, Olufemi Timothy Adigun

Abstract

The emergence of COVID-19 necessitated the need for lockdown and social distancing. It presented additional challenges for teachers and learners with disabilities (LwDs), whose life and active learning engagements depend largely on social interaction with teachers, caregivers, therapists and peers. COVID-19 presents anxieties associated with teaching and learning processes, potential relapse of previously gained learning outcomes and aggravated disabling condition. However, there seems to be less teachers’ capacities to continually foster learning among their LwDs during the lockdown because there are low teachers’ morale and pedagogical gaps for digital teaching. Based on the current realities, it is evident that there is need for a shift in teacher preparation to be able to teach LwDs in crisis situations. Hence, this reviewed intellectual piece advances the need to modify the existing teacher education curriculum to extensively build on teachers’ morale while incorporating the use of technology in teacher preparation programmes in Africa.

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