Decolonisation of digital Learning spaces
Image of the world by Stuart Rankin (CC-BY)
The purpose of this project is to connect with peoples around the globe who are interested in the development of co-designed, autonomous and sustainable community digital learning spaces based on solid methodological foundations that enhance the understanding of authentic community needs, situations, aspirations, experiences, and expectations.
Many social research concepts and methods are drawn from hegemonic values, cultures, epistemology, environment, history, languages, and mobilities. English, Western philosophy, and global modernism along with its institutions and technologies have dominated educational practices and created barriers to inclusion of, acceptance of, and respect for of ‘non-mainstream’ practices and innovation.
The project is also concerned with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon marginalized populations. There is, currently, no systemic account of how such populations are being impacted by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The aforementioned barriers and crises hinder what we, as educators, think we understand about other people and their communities.
Our underlying purpose is to celebrate cultural differences and to demonstrate how universal these are and to establish that, in spite of the pressure for scale and uniformity, it is still possible to develop and deliver culturally sensitive and culturally specific learning experiences.