Cultural Diversity and Its Implications in Online Networked Learning Spaces

Abstract

The open nature of online networked spaces enables diverse participation from all around the globe, raising cultural diversity as a paramount issue within the learning perspective. In this context, the purpose of this research is to examine participation and engagement patterns in online networked learning spaces in terms of cultural dimensions. The findings of this research have demonstrated that there is diversity in both time and space. The geographical distribution demonstrates that most of the participation originates from developed, Western, Anglo-Saxon cultures. Diversity in time creates its own loop, in which interactions were fed continuously and terms, such as day and night, sync and async have blurred borders. The English language is dominant over other languages and learners predominantly participate from those countries where English is spoken as a native or official language. In terms of cultural perspectives, the findings indicate that there is cultural dominancy as well as cultural diversity in online networked learning spaces.

UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF MOOCs OFFERING: A CROSS-COUNTRY STUDY

“…Ukraine, Poland, Nigeria, Kuwait, Greece, El Salvador, and Ecuador have only one course offered by their Universities. These results reinforce those of Edmundson (2007), Pasha et al (2016), Altbach (2014) and Bozkurt et al (2018) that pointed to the dominance of institutions from developed and western countries, especially American universities, in the academic thinking and the reflection of this dominance in the development and offering of MOOCs. After the descriptive analyzes, we performed a bivariate correlation to evaluate possible relationships between the variables considered in the quantitative model.…”

“…Several studies emphasize that most of the MOOCs are offered in English and that the dominant ideas from global centers of knowledge located in the United States and England are reflected in the thinking and orientations of most of those designing MOOCs, which makes MOOCs socio-culturally exclusionary for non-English speakers, for those with English as a second language, and for native English speakers in colonized countries (Bozkurt et al, 2018;Altbach, 2014;Adam, 2019;Lambert, 2020). The implications, especially for the developing countries are serious, as agued by Altbach (2014), because MOOCs produced in these centers are easily accessible and inexpensive for the user, but may inhibit the emergence of local academic culture and content focused on the national audience.…”

“…As pointed by Park, Jung and Reeves (2015, p. 73), "MOOC learners come from different cultures, are of all ages and educational backgrounds and have different motivations". Bozkurt, Yazici and Aydin (2018) emphasize that the cultural diversity promotes social exchange and new ideas, but if it is not well understood it can create problems, such as social conflicts and integration issues. Thus, it is important to analyze the effect of cultural aspects on online education in order to understand how MOOCs can be better applied and widespread in a global context.…”

Open World Learning

“…Still, emerging data suggest varied persistence and achievement gaps for learners from various regions (Reich & Ruipérez-Valiente, 2019). In contrast to the expectations of MOOC enthusiasts (Bozkurt & Aydın, 2018;Jansen & Schuwer, 2015), there is substantial inequality and disparity in the global digital learning landscape, with regional and cultural backgrounds influencing the way learners engage with MOOCs Kizilcec & Halawa, 2015;Ogan et al, 2015;Reich & Ruipérez-Valiente, 2019).…”

Understanding Arab Students’ Behavioral Patterns in an Online Course: An Explanatory Study Based on Hofstede’s National Cultural Dimensions

“…To facilitate and enhance the adoption of online learning experiences for students, it is important to understand how students behave in these online spaces where, unlike with traditional learning, they need to be self-regulated, and no face-to-face meetings or discussions are conducted. Bozkurt, Yazıcı, and Aydın [5] referred to each country having its own pattern of learning behaviors that fulfil the specific criteria of that country. Consequently, a strong relationship is developed between learning behavioral patterns and culture [6].…”