Lived experiences of female social work and community development students at the University of Zambia (UNZA) about online education during Covid-19 pandemic

This book chapter explores the lived experiences of female students pursuing Master of Social Work and Community Development at UNZA about online education during the COVID-19 era. The study focused on establishing the challenges faced, the factors that explain the challenges, and policy measures put in place to address the challenges as a means of improving the quality of future online education at the institution. To achieve the objectives, the study adopted a hermeneutical phenomenology qualitative approach that involved twelve (12) Social Work and Community Development students who participated in online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study established that the challenges faced by students can be grouped into three (3) major categories, including micro level challenges (that is, challenges at individual students and lecturers' level), meso challenges (that is, challenges at UNZA as an institution), and macro challenges (that is, challenges faced by Zambia as a nation). However, despite the grouping, it was evident that micro level challenges are attributable to meso and macro levels. This was because participants held the view that meso and macro level challenges were mainly the ones that led to micro level challenges. At each of these levels, the major challenges included poor internet connectivity, high cost of buying internet bundles, inadequate technology, poor coordination of lectures, and load-shedding, suggesting that they are interlinked and cannot be separated. To mitigate the challenges, the study calls for the need to simultaneously address challenges at all the above levels. This would involve improving access to the internet by all students and lecturers, addressing the national problem of load-shedding, and technological empowerment of both lecturers and students in online education.