Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Gulf Education and Social Policy Review (GESPR)
Publication Date
1-16-2023
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic shifts in education worldwide. In the spring of 2020, universities abruptly moved to emergency remote teaching and learning (ERT&L), with online and hybrid education continuing into the post-pandemic era. In the Gulf, cultural, religious, and sociolinguistic dynamics can present additional challenges for teaching and learning online. Reluctance to use cameras due to modesty, privacy, and E-safety concerns, amongst others, affects interaction and rapport. This article presents empirical data from a qualitative phenomenological case study investigating male and female Emirati university students’ (n = 107) perspectives on access, interaction, and engagement during Zoom classes in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021. Students’ reflective essays and researcher observations revealed that intersecting factors, such as gender, religion, culture, linguistic challenges in English-medium universities, and fear of judgment, affected participants’ comfort levels and learning effectiveness in online classes. Data are analyzed through interpretive phenomenological analysis and the analytical tool of intersectionality, through which complexities of learner identities are explored. Practical suggestions are made on adapting online and hybrid learning to suit the sociocultural realities of Gulf states better by enhancing interaction and engagement in online classes without compromising comfort, E-safety, and privacy in post-pandemic education
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Knowledge E DMCC
First Page
139–163
Last Page
139–163
Disciplines
Education
Keywords
E-learning, COVID-19, higher education, intersectionality, culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy, UAE
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hopkyns, Sarah, "Toward Culturally and Linguistically Responsive E-Learning in Post-COVID-19 Higher Education: Perspectives from the United Arab Emirates" (2023). All Works. 5631.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/5631
Indexed in Scopus
no
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series