Afrocentric Student Agency, Negotiating “Third Space,” and Higher Education

A Photovoice Study of Emergency Remote Learning During Covid-19 in Malawi and Zimbabwe

Bibliographic Data

ID21307911
AuthorsPempho Chinkondenji (0000-0003-2668-1222), Nyaradzai Changamire
Year2025
Volume69
Issue2
Pages205-233
Publication date2025-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Education Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-4086 • E-ISSN: 1545-701X
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/735703
OpenAlexW4410794755
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited22

The COVID-19 pandemic led to disruptions or permanent closures of postsecondary institutions around the world, with adverse consequences on equitable education outcomes due to preexisting gender and digital inequalities. Due to the unprecedented global emergency, higher education students were forced to return home and conduct classes remotely or online, with some unable to return to school indefinitely. This transnational photovoice study examines how African female collegians within the context of Southern Africa, cases of Malawi and Zimbabwe, navigate(d) and negotiate(d) emergency remote learning during the COVID-19 crisis. The data highlight that participants navigated emergency remote learning by creating a third space of hybridity—others of themselves—that centered on personal-internal power and collective action rooted in Ubuntucentric solidarity to subvert marginality within and beyond the academy. Understanding third space—a hybrid sociocultural and digital space for negotiating identity, relationships, and learning during crises—is key to shaping inclusive, resilient higher education policies

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Agency (philosophy) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Economic growth · Infectious disease (medical specialty) · Negotiation · Outbreak · Pandemic · Photovoice · Political science · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) · Social science · Sociology · Space (punctuation) · Computer Science · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Practises and Engagement · Medicine · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Virology

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