The Impacts of the COVID-19 Traffic Light System on Staff in Tertiary Education in New Zealand

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The methods and materials section is commendable, offering a detailed description that allows readers to vividly visualize the procedures undertaken by the authors. The results and discussion section is comprehensive and effectively presents the findings. However, I would like to bring to your attention a couple of points that, in my opinion, require further attention.

Firstly, the study encompasses several variables, including educational shift, pastoral support, and well-being. While these are appropriately addressed in the Results and Discussion sections, the introduction could benefit from a more comprehensive treatment of these variables. A more in-depth exploration in the introduction would provide readers with a better context for understanding the study's scope and objectives.

Secondly, the conclusion section appears to be somewhat lacking. It would be beneficial for the authors to expand upon their conclusions, providing a more detailed and insightful discussion that reflects on the implications of the study's results. A more comprehensive conclusion would enhance the overall impact of the manuscript.

In conclusion, I believe that addressing these two points would significantly improve the manuscript's overall quality and contribute to a more thorough understanding of the study. I appreciate your consideration of these suggestions and look forward to seeing the revised version of the manuscript.

 

Thank you for your time and attention.

 

Best regards,

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing

Author Response

Thank you for taking the time to review our article, we appreciate the effort and comments you have made. Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions in track changes in the re-submitted file,

Thank you for your commendation on the methods and materials, results and discussion sections. 

We agree with your comments with regards to the introduction lacking information on educational shifts, pastoral support and well-being.  This has been included in the updated manuscript pg. 2; paragraphs 3, 4, 5; lines 59-77. 

We agree with your comments with regards to the conclusion and have updated this on pg. 10; paragraphs 4,5,6,7; lines 447-477

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript is a qualitative research for COVID-19 and education impacts.

The topic is interesting and there is a qualitative report entitled The impact of COVID-19 on tertiary education in New Zealand (https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/80898/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-tertiary-education-in-new-zealand-initial-impact-on-participation).

As a qualitative research, it lacks basic structures and methods. In addition, the authors just list interview results without implications and insights.

Conclusion section contains no conclusion. What are your research purpose and motivation? Does the manuscript include basic qualitative research materials? I think "NO".

The figure is meaningless in the context; Speaking of which, there is only one table for interview questions.

What is the main question addressed by the research? I cannot find it from Introduction.

What does it add to the subject area compared with other published material? The authors must revise the manuscript based on this comment.

Does it address a specific gap in the field? The authors must revise the manuscript and include them in Discussion section.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

none

Author Response

Thank you very much for taking the time to review this manuscript, we appreciate the effort and comments you have made.  Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions in track changes in the re-submitted files.

Thank you for the report reference provided – this outlines the impacts of COVID-19 on participation within provider based and workplace-based tertiary education participation trends.  The results of our research did not outline any trends in student demographics or participation rates therefore we have not added this reference to our manuscript.

We agree with your comments with regards to the aim of the research and have updated the introduction to provide clarity paragraphs pg. 2; lines 59-77 and updated the aim of the project in pg. 2; paragraph 6.

We agree with your comments with regards to the conclusion providing limited information and have expanded  on pg. 10; paragraphs 4,5,6,7; lines 447-477

We believe that our article contributes to the subject area by offering a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the effects of the COVID-19 traffic light system on staff in tertiary education specifically within the context of New Zealand.

This research aims to fill a gap in the field by providing a localized and focused analysis that considers the unique challenges and experiences of staff members in the New Zealand tertiary education sector during the pandemic. By doing so, our article offers insights and perspectives that may differ from broader studies, thus enriching the existing literature with contextually relevant information.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I think the semantic analysis is very interesting though the sample is very limited. Anyhow I think it is relevant to spread the findings for possible future similar situations to be approached from a different perspective and with better implementation criteria.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Language is adequate but Table 1 should be checked. 

"Were any changes were made in the programme?"

 

 

 

Author Response

Thank you for taking the time to review this manuscript, we appreciate the effort and comments you have made.  Please find the detailed responses below and the corresponding revisions in track changes in the re-submitted files.

To address any concerns with regards to our empirical data, we have modified the content of this article and provided additional explanations about our results in the discussion (pg. 8 and 9; lines 369-386 and 412-417) and conclusion section.   The conclusion has been updated to provide additional information about the implications for these results (pg. 10; paragraphs 4,5,6,7; lines 447-477). 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors revised the manuscript based on the previous review.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

None