Promoting culturally responsive teaching in online learning: experiences and challenges of instructors and students in higher education

Despite the rapid growth of students from diverse backgrounds in online higher education, there has been a knowledge gap in how faculty implemented culturally responsive teaching and how students experienced it in online learning environments. This qualitative study fills this gap by interviewing 30 faculty and 30 students at a public university in the United States. Resulted from a constant comparative analysis approach pointed to these themes: (a) understanding of culturally responsive teaching in online classrooms, (b) strategies to promote culturally responsive teaching (providing multicultural and multimedia materials; creating a conducive online learning classroom; helping diverse students to contribute to learning process; advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion), (c) challenges in implementing culturally responsive teaching. Findings suggest the synergetic relationship between strategies in helping diverse students contribute to the learning process, and the need for a professional development program for STEM faculty on implementing CRT in online environments.