Pandemic-induced Migration From Campus to Digital Mode: Experiences From Social Work Students and Teachers in India and Sweden

Abstract

The article explores the rapid COVID-19 pandemic-induced migration from campus to digital modes of education in 2020–2021. The process of this migration offers an opportunity to examine some important issues related to digital teaching, learning, and education during the pandemic. Based on our study of the School of Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India, and the School of Social Work at Lund University, Sweden, we explore and compare the social component in the experiences of students and teachers at the two institutions. The data collection draws on focus group sessions and interviews complemented by various relevant institutional documents and our own experiences at our respective institutions. The core argument we put forth in the article is that the Swedish student and teacher response to the pandemic-induced crisis and the migration to digital classes was a case of ‘trusting the state’, as they were passively waiting for top-down initiatives and instructions. On the other hand, the response at the Indian institution was a case of ‘trusting ourselves’, not waiting for top-down instructions and support but creating bottom-up solutions within the internal community of teachers and students. We also highlight the different perceptions and the impact of teaching and studying from home on physical and emotional levels. While we present the differences and specificity around the expectations of teachers and students at the two institutions, we also elucidate their patience, perseverance and innovation while engaging with the realities of work and studying from home while being kept away from campus.