Teaching and learning challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

Abstract

Teaching and learning in schools worldwide was severely disrupted due to COVID-19. Therefore, the present study aimed to understand the teaching and learning challenges that confronted schools due to the pandemic. It systematically reviewed the international literature involving 226 studies to elucidate a comprehensive range of teaching and learning challenges confronting schools due to the pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to derive patterns of challenges from the studies included in the systematic review. Results showed that the teaching and learning challenges were often inextricably linked to those affecting wellbeing and safety. They involved different stakeholders beyond school leaders – teachers, students, parents, and other members of the school community. They also pertained to the period of time corresponding to school closure during the pandemic and post-pandemic reopening. The analysis identified four themes on teaching and learning challenges schools were confronted with, namely schools' urgent need to respond to the challenging external environment, implementation and consequences of home-based online teaching and learning during the pandemic, need to do more with less, and deteriorating wellbeing of the school community during the pandemic. Our study contributes to the development of the leadership contingency opportunities theory in the context of teaching and learning challenges confronting schools due to COVID-19. Implications for policy and schools to enhance schools’ capacity to address teaching and learning challenges during future crises were discussed.