A shift in epistemological beliefs and practices during the Covid-19 pandemic : curriculum recovery plan implementation

Abstract

Research on epistemological beliefs has been a prominent focal area of study across the globe. Perry, who did the earliest research on this topic, defined epistemological beliefs as an individual's assumptions about the nature of knowledge, its boundaries, its accuracy, and its acquisition and emphasised its relevance in classroom practices. Business Studies literature on epistemological beliefs is scarce, particularly in South Africa. Given the current Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the government has implemented a curriculum recovery plan (CRP) that prioritises the restoration of learning lost in the 2020 academic year. The primary objective was to investigate participants' epistemological beliefs and practices in relation to the Business Studies CRP. The data was obtained from 13 purposively selected participants through the methods of document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. The findings of this study indicated that the crisis conditions did shift participants' epistemological beliefs and practices. The participants accepted to remove topics that were redundant and deterrent to future careers. The teachers' pedagogical practices experienced transformation, with the implementation of novel teaching methodologies. The findings also suggest that the study participants learned to construct and use creative assessment methods like baseline activities to identify learning gaps and interactive quizzes to test knowledge acquisition.