Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education
Perceived inclusiveness of the higher education (HE) learning environment plays a major role in the academic outcomes and well-being of cultural minority students. In this qualitative study, we investigated how cultural minority students and teachers perceived inclusiveness of their HE learning env...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Online Learning Consortium
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Online Learning |
| Online Access: | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/4336 |
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| author | Rinotha Senathirajah Jana Vietze Marieke Meeuwisse |
| author_facet | Rinotha Senathirajah Jana Vietze Marieke Meeuwisse |
| author_sort | Rinotha Senathirajah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Perceived inclusiveness of the higher education (HE) learning environment plays a major role in the academic outcomes and well-being of cultural minority students. In this qualitative study, we investigated how cultural minority students and teachers perceived inclusiveness of their HE learning environment after the transition to mainly online education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted online focus group interviews with twelve cultural minority students and with five cultural minority teachers at a large urban university in the Netherlands. Thematic analysis revealed four themes related to perceived inclusiveness in both the offline and online learning environment: inclusive curriculum, culture-related and caring teaching practices, culture representation, and available resources. Students and teachers perceived caring teaching practices to be more important in the online compared to the offline learning environment. Teachers considered access to technological resources particularly important for making online education more inclusive for students. Insights in cultural minority students’ and teachers’ perceptions of inclusive and online learning environments are discussed.
Keywords: higher education, online learning environment, inclusiveness, cultural minority, qualitative research
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-edf788d743b34e5593bdb407104f0ea1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2472-5749 2472-5730 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Online Learning Consortium |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Online Learning |
| spelling | doaj-art-edf788d743b34e5593bdb407104f0ea12025-08-20T03:46:04ZengOnline Learning ConsortiumOnline Learning2472-57492472-57302025-04-0129210.24059/olj.v29i2.4336Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher EducationRinotha Senathirajah0Jana VietzeMarieke Meeuwisse Avans Hogeschool Perceived inclusiveness of the higher education (HE) learning environment plays a major role in the academic outcomes and well-being of cultural minority students. In this qualitative study, we investigated how cultural minority students and teachers perceived inclusiveness of their HE learning environment after the transition to mainly online education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted online focus group interviews with twelve cultural minority students and with five cultural minority teachers at a large urban university in the Netherlands. Thematic analysis revealed four themes related to perceived inclusiveness in both the offline and online learning environment: inclusive curriculum, culture-related and caring teaching practices, culture representation, and available resources. Students and teachers perceived caring teaching practices to be more important in the online compared to the offline learning environment. Teachers considered access to technological resources particularly important for making online education more inclusive for students. Insights in cultural minority students’ and teachers’ perceptions of inclusive and online learning environments are discussed. Keywords: higher education, online learning environment, inclusiveness, cultural minority, qualitative research https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/4336 |
| spellingShingle | Rinotha Senathirajah Jana Vietze Marieke Meeuwisse Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education Online Learning |
| title | Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education |
| title_full | Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education |
| title_fullStr | Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education |
| title_short | Offline versus Online Learning Environments: Exploring Cultural Minority Student and Teacher Perceptions of Inclusiveness in Higher Education |
| title_sort | offline versus online learning environments exploring cultural minority student and teacher perceptions of inclusiveness in higher education |
| url | https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/4336 |
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