Purpose – This study aimed to explore the challenges teachers experience when engaging in online communities for CPD, with particular focus on how these challenges influence teacher identity and voice.Methodology – A qualitative research approach, grounded in a constructivist paradigm, was adopted. Data were collected from 100 teachers through an open-ended questionnaire, followed by semi-structured interviews with 20 purposively selected participants. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis.Findings – The findings revealed six key challenges: internet connectivity, information overload and misinformation, inadequate digital skills, time constraints, contextual disconnect, inadequate diversity, and lack of leadership support. These findings demonstrate that while online CPD offers opportunities for collaboration and professional growth, structural, technological, and institutional barriers limit active participation, knowledge construction, and identity development.Contribution – This study contributes to the understanding of online CPD by critically highlighting how structural, technological, and institutional barriers shape teachers’ engagement, identity, and voice in digital professional learning spaces. It extends the Communities of Practice framework by demonstrating that participation in online environments is contextually constrained and uneven, rather than inherently inclusive. Furthermore, the study provides practical and policy-relevant insights for designing more equitable, context-responsive, and supportive online CPD systems.
P. Oloba, Tendayi Dzinoreva· JURNAL EDUSCIENCE· 0 citations
Globalisation has increased the internationalisation of higher education across Africa; however, persistent inequalities in access, participation, and knowledge production continue to challenge the sustainability and inclusiveness of these processes. Although considerable attention has been given to internationalisation policies and cross-border collaborations, limited empirical evidence exists on how host institutions operationalise sustainable globalised higher education within African contexts. This study therefore examined the role of selected South African host institutions in advancing sustainable globalised higher education and explored how institutional practices promote inclusion, equity, and sustainability. A qualitative research approach, underpinned by a constructivist paradigm, was employed. Data were generated through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 20 purposively selected participants representing university executive leadership, directors of international offices, academic staff, ICT specialists, and students across three public universities in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Rather than functioning as isolated initiatives, the findings revealed that host institutions advance sustainable globalised higher education through an interconnected system of institutional internationalisation strategies, curriculum innovation, digital learning and cross-border delivery, student and staff mobility support, and inclusive institutional practices. Together, these dimensions demonstrate a shift towards integrated, digitally enabled, and contextually responsive models of internationalisation that simultaneously strengthen global engagement and local relevance. The study contributes to knowledge by providing a holistic and contextually grounded understanding of how selected African universities actively shape sustainable globalisation, while extending Communities of Practice and institutional theory through evidence from African higher education. The study concludes that sustainable globalised higher education is most effectively achieved when internationalisation is embedded as an integrated institutional strategy that balances global competitiveness with inclusion, sustainability, and contextual responsiveness.
