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 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