COVID-19 and the experiences of academics with mobility impairments in an open distance learning higher education institution in South Africa

ABSTRACT

The article presents the narratives of two academics with mobility impairments who work in the largest open distance learning higher education institution in South Africa. We share our experiences as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and reflect on this phase. For many people, life will never be the same after this pandemic; people have had to adapt and adjust to the demands of the “new normal” and will have to keep on adapting in the future as well. For all of us, this will be the new way of life. However, people with disabilities usually do not have a “normal”; they are often excluded, isolated and are considered to be the “other.” This article explores how we, who are considered as “other” academics, experience this “new normal.” Using the narrative research design, as authors of this article we present our personal narratives of living through the COVID-19 transition and its impact on our academic lives. The article also presents our conflicting emotions, as well as reflections on what the “new normal” is likely to bring to our academic lives. Dialogues in the field of people with disabilities and academia are usually uncomfortable because they focus on feelings of being stranded and how academics with disabilities cope with daily anxiety. In sharing our unique experiences, we assume that these narratives might add further insights to the dialogues.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• impairments
• open distance learning
• academics
• disability
• narratives

Acknowledgement

Dr Smangele Truelove Mkhwanazi, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Educational Leadership and Management (DELM) at the University of South Africa, passed away on 06 July 2022. Written permission was given by Dr Smangele’s next of kin, approving her inclusion as an author in the article: COVID-19 and the experiences of academics with mobility impairments in an open distance learning higher education institution in South Africa.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).