Assessing dynamic curriculum change due to COVID-19 for UK academics and students

Due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) the United Kingdom (UK) entered a national level lockdown in March 2020, resulting in unprecedented restrictions on daily life and activity levels. Globally, with the closure of facilities and social distancing encouraged, research suggests that physical activity levels within the pandemic have reduced (Maugeri et al., 2020), impacting negatively upon mental health and well-being (Ammar et al., 2020). Moreover, COVID-19 has had a significant effect on the economy where the sport sector faces major challenges to stay competitive (Ratten, 2020). Of particular concern is the impact upon sport management programmes in higher education (HE) as the COVID-19 pandemic has created unparalleled pressure upon academic staff to adopt new approaches to delivering the curriculum in these unusual circumstances. For students, they have had to adapt to a new learning and social environment impacting their motivation and engagement. Both university campuses and sport facilities have represented a considerably different environment compared to usual footfall with no students, crowds, or mass sporting gatherings (Parnell et al., 2020). Stripped of both its traditional learning facilities and the opportunity to engage with sporting events, sport management courses face an urgent need to adapt due to the traditional experiential pedagogical approach being forced to stop during the pandemic.