Revisiting sustainable development Goal 4 in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic: A case study of online teaching in Algerian higher education institutions

Abstract

The unanticipated transition from traditional/on-campus to distance learning has not only posed challenges in different contexts at the global level, but it also caused disparity in terms of access to education. As a mandate, Goal 4 of Sustainable Development Goals states that by 2030 all member states should work to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UNESCO, 2015). In practice, however, the responses of different international education institutions during the Covid-19 confinement indicate that the achievement of this equity plan at the global level is rather unfeasible. To address this issue from a local lens, this study seeks to examine the plan implemented for online teaching in the Algerian higher education institutions. It draws on a key body of literature on online infrastructure and pedagogy to explore (1) the different online teaching models that were implemented, (2) Algerian higher education teachers' practices within the framework of this new model of teaching, and (3) the different challenges encountered by teachers during this transition. To achieve this end, a qualitative study that is based on an analysis of teachers' interviews is conducted to explore teachers' practices in different higher education institutions in Algeria. The results of this research will not only highlight the prevailing disparities, but will also serve to offer recommendations that could be relevant to future teachers' professional development programs.