Evolution of Teaching and Learning in South African Higher Education

Teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has gone through a major transformation in the past decade. This transformation comes about the increased use of technology that resulted in the implementation of hybrid and blended teaching and learning in HEIs. This study investigated how teaching and learning has transformed in the past decade through the use of technologies including the impact of Covid-19. This aided considerably in determining how the use of technology affected the teaching and learning in South Africa. A qualitative research method is applied with a systematic literature review by identifying key themes addressed in the transformation of teaching and learning in articles published between 2015 (5 years before Covid-19) and 2024 (3 years during Covid-19 and 2 years after Covid-19). The findings of the study indicate that there has been a major shift in teaching and learning in HEIs through embracing technology that requires students to adapt from traditional learning to hybrid or blended learning. The use of hybrid or blended learning surged during Covid-19 and remains relevant in the present day. This study fills the gap in the existing body of knowledge pertaining to the South African HEIs by highlighting the transition of teaching and learning together with the challenges that impedes the relevant technologies to be adapted by HEIs. The findings derived from the empirical study are limited to South African HEIs for 10 years.