Critical to online post-secondary education success is a student’s ability to competently navigate online courses and fully participate in online learning communities (Anderson et al., 2000). Despite online education being touted as improving access for students from non-dominant cultures (such as Indigenous students) (Eady & Woodcock, 2010; Kral, 2010; Simon et al., 2014; Sisco, 2010), it is evident that meaningful access is not equitable (Laferriére et al., 2018) and has the potential to reproduce the same inequities that occur in face-to-face (F2F) courses. This review explores existing research on learner experiences, whose backgrounds vary from the dominant culture, in online discussion spaces including data regarding participation and identity construction in online learning communities. I have categorized and explored several themes from sixteen empirical, peer-reviewed studies. Findings include acknowledgment of an achievement gap, recommendations for students to prepare for reported, unexpected rigors of online learning, pedagogical instructor strategies for navigating online courses, for instructors to embrace critical pedagogy and transformational practices, and finally, a need for alternative spaces to explore equity and interculturality. Implications include increasing knowledge of the factors that prevent equitable access and developing frameworks to design best practices to support students from diverse backgrounds. It is the basis of my doctoral research examining the experiences of Canadian Métis (Indigenous) women learners in this context. Because of the lack of research on this topic, I included a study of learners whose culture differs from the typical post-secondary student from North American or Western backgrounds.

Authors:
Robline Davey, Simon Fraser University, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Robline Davey is a University Doctoral Student at Simon Fraser University in Canada

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