Regional contextualization of culturally responsive online distance pedagogy (CRODP) among Southeast Asia higher educators

Abstract

ABSTRACT The rapid development of online distance learning (ODL) in the higher education settings worldwide is largely contributed to its massive benefits in addressing inclusive education through meeting diverse educational needs of the students. With growing interest towards ODL, all higher education institutions (HEIs) are expected to enroll students from wider cultural or ethnical backgrounds. Therefore, there remains a strong demand for higher educators to provide quality higher education that is responsive towards students’ cultural diversity. This study explores and examines the pedagogical methods employed in culturally responsive online distance pedagogy (CRODP) through higher educators’ lens. To investigate further, the researchers interviewed 22 Southeast Asian higher educators who were identified as experts and active researchers in ODL. The findings revealed the current advances in CRODP in terms of its understanding, pedagogical methods, challenges, progress and implementation in HEIs. More importantly, explicit descriptions on how CRODP could support cultural diversity and social inclusion among the students were also presented. Finally, this study summarized several future practical implications for integrating diversity and inclusion strategies for CRODP in HEIs, particularly in Southeast Asia.