Covid-19 Section: Call for Papers

2021-05-12

Special Section on Covid-19: Experiences, impact, and implications for Higher Education

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges throughout the world at all levels of society, with no exception. Higher education has been impacted strongly, initially with an imposed shift to online modes of delivery, and, subsequently, with a prolonged transition which seems to be questioning the temporary nature of this shift. The emergency remote response has benefitted from effort, time and goodwill displayed by staff and students, as new roles and responsibilities have had to be accommodated in situations which strongly resembled crisis management. Initially, a level of leniency and tolerance was exhibited by all stakeholders as HEIs were finding ways of coming to terms with stringent restrictions while aiming to safeguard the educational experience, overall, and teaching, learning and assessment standards, more specifically. The transition period, however, saw an increase in quality expectations regarding online delivery, with staff and students recognizing that it could no longer be sufficient to replicate face-to-face activities for the online environment and more investment would be needed to attain an acceptable level of quality. As such leadership structures in higher education institutions are now prompted to decide and communicate clearly what the post-pandemic position is likely to be, so that efforts can be relevantly targeted. External stakeholders, such as governments, industry representatives and the public at large, are also strongly involved in this debate, as the likelihood of whole higher education sectors to exhibit significant change is foreseeably high.

The Tuning Journal for Higher Education focusses on two key aims: (1) to provide a platform for constructive debate amongst stakeholders concerning the promotion of excellence in all aspects of Higher Education; and (2) to enable the dissemination and critical reflection of good educational practises, innovation and research. It is therefore highly appropriate that, one year on from the pandemic outbreak, at a time when we can take stock of the experiences and derive lessons learned to inform strategic post-pandemic decisions, the Tuning Journal for Higher Education is proposing the inclusion of a Special Section on Covid-19 higher education experiences and their impact for the future. The intention is to offer a platform for exchange of experiences within higher education which can support the current debate amongst stakeholders and encourage solutions for the “New Normal”. Though pandemic realities have been most challenging, it is our belief that the momentum for development and growth should not be lost. Options which would have rarely been considered viable in pre-pandemic higher education are becoming increasingly appealing to a variety of stakeholders. The world of higher education is now preoccupied with the major question of what will each institution, each national sector, each regional structure take forward as they craft their post-pandemic profiles.

The Special Section aims to foster international academic reflection, detailed analysis and on-going dialogue by bringing together diverse opinions, multiple voices and various perspectives. We invite higher education institutions (senior management, staff and students), quality assurance agencies, ministerial bodies, industry representatives and other stakeholders to propose contributions, as research articles, case studies or policy papers, on the following topics, specifically related to the pandemic:

  • leadership and strategic decision-making with a view to the future
  • analysis of changing institutional/organisational roles and responsibilities
  • higher education crisis management and reflection on solutions implemented
  • experiences of staff, students, other stakeholders and lessons learned
  • internationalisation and mobility challenges
  • approaches to quality and quality assurance
  • shift to online teaching, learning and assessments and impact on learning outcomes
  • adjustments to programme design and curriculum delivery both during HE and for future students (including as related to practice-based activities)
  • staff and student performance within the digital/virtual environment, including aspects of capacity building, continuous professional development, upskilling, and reskilling
  • teaching methodologies, materials development, assessment options appropriate in emergency remote response and/or the transition period, including aspects of ethics
  • infrastructural changes for modern technologies in education
  • emphasis and development of support services, for students and staff
  • impact on research, development and other creative activities, including service to society
  • considerations of temporary versus permanent solutions and implications for future directions

Key dates for authors:

  • For the November 2021 Issue: 1 July 2021 – submission received
  • For the May 2022 Issue: 1 February 2022 – submission received

Guidelines for authors can be found at: https://tuningjournal.org/about/submissions

Please contact the TJHE Editor, Professor Mary Gobbi (mary.gobbi@deusto.es), or the Covid-19 Section Editor, Professor Anca Greere (anca.greere@softwaredesign.ro), for any questions or clarifications.