DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AN ONLINE TRAINING MODULE ON RACE, ETHNICITY AND CULTURE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTRUCTORS

Vana Chiou, Maria Aleksandrovich

Abstract


This paper presents the development and evaluation of an online training module titled “Race, Ethnicity, and Culture”, designed as part of the Erasmus+ project “JoinMe2 – Promoting Inclusive Education at Tertiary Level” (2020–2023). The module aims to enhance higher education instructors' cultural awareness and to support the implementation of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices in university classrooms. Using the ADDIE instructional design model, the module was developed through a structured, evidence-based process involving needs assessment, module design, content development, pilot testing with instructors from six European countries, and evaluation. Evaluation data from 30 participants indicated overall satisfaction with the module’s structure and content, while some technical and content-related issues were also noted. Based on participants’ feedback and suggestions, the module was revised, and refinements were made to improve it. The findings highlight the potential of the online training module to support professional development in diversity issues at a tertiary level.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


instructional design, evaluation, training module, race, ethnicity, culture, cultural awareness, culturally responsive teaching, higher education

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aleksadrovich, M., & Gierczynska-Kolas, M. (2023). Higher education Institutions in Poland. Overview of the Issues of Gender, Sexual Preferences, Ethnic Background, Cultural Differences, and Disability. In N. Oruç Ertürk, & A. Yürekli (Eds.), Inclusive Education: Definition and Conceptual Framework (pp. 71-91). Waxmann. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Inclusive_Education.html?id=p3DFEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Anselme, M. L., & Hands, C. (2012). Access to secondary and tertiary education for all refugees: steps and challenges to overcome. Refuge Canada’s Journal on Refuge, 27(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.34725

Branch, R. M. (2009). Instructional Design: the ADDIE approach. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09506-6

Brumen, M., Chiou, V., Schüssler, R., & Holz, O. (Eds.). (2023). Welcoming international teachers at school – A guide for mentors, principals and the school community. Bielefeld: Bielefeld School of Education (BiSEd), Projekt "International Teachers for Tomorrow’s School" (ITTS). https://doi.org/10.4119/unibi/2978118

Bustamante, R. M., Nelson, J. A., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2009). Assessing Schoolwide Cultural Competence: Implications for School Leadership Preparation. Educational Administration Quarterly, 45(5), 793–827. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161x09347277

Byram, M., Lloyd, K., & Schneider, R. (1995). Defining and describing ‘cultural awareness.’ Language Learning Journal, 12(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571739585200321

Chiou, V., & Holz O. (2023). International Teachers for Tomorrow’s School: basic needs, opportunities and challenges. In M., Brumen, V. Chiou, R. Schüssler, & O. Holz (Eds.), Welcoming international teachers at school – A guide for mentors, principals and the school community. Bielefeld: Bielefeld School of Education (BiSEd), Projekt "International Teachers for Tomorrow’s School" (ITTS). https://doi.org/10.4119/unibi/2978118

Chiou, V., Petracou, E., & Skourtou E. (2023). How inclusive is Greek Higher Education? Attitudes and Practices of Faculty Staff and Students’ Experiences on Inclusive Education at Tertiary Level. In N. Oruç Ertürk, & A. Yürekli (Eds.), Inclusive Education: Definition and Conceptual Framework (pp. 119-148). Waxmann. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Inclusive_Education.html?id=p3DFEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Crea, T. M. (2015). Refugee higher education: Contextual challenges and implications for program design, delivery, and accompaniment. International Journal of Educational Development, 46, 12–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.11.005

Constantin, E. C., Cohen-Vida, M., & Popescu, A. V. (2015). Developing cultural awareness. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 696–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.228

Derman-Sparks, L. (1993). Empowering children to create a caring culture in a world of differences. Childhood Education, 70(2), 66–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.1993.10520994

Gay, G., & Banks, J.A. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.

Grosfoguel, R. (2016). What is Racism? Journal of World-Systems Research, 22(1), 9–15. https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2016.609

Hamza, M. (2012). Developing Training Material Guide. Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).

Hutchison, L., & McAlister-Shields, L. (2020). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Its application in higher education environments. Education Sciences, 10(5), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10050124

JoinMe2. https://joinme2.org/

Kasaboğlu, T., & Berti Baran, M. (2023). A Scale Development Study. Scale of the Instructors’ and Students’ Equity and Diversity Competencies. In N. Oruç Ertürk, & A. Yürekli (Eds.), Inclusive Education: Definition and Conceptual Framework (pp. 7-17). Waxmann. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Inclusive_Education.html?id=p3DFEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Lang, E. H., Munsey, B., Murray, F., Manning, L., & Wigington, T. (2023). Culturally responsive learning environments within higher education. Learning Environments Research, 27(2), 315–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-023-09481-x

Oruç Ertürk, N., & Yürekli, A. (2023). Inclusion and Diversity Literacy in Higher Education in Turkiye. In N. Oruç Ertürk, & A. Yürekli (Eds.), Inclusive Education: Definition and Conceptual Framework (pp. 20-21). Waxmann. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Inclusive_Education.html?id=p3DFEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Pereira, A. (2020). “Race” vs. “Ethnicity”: Why These Terms Are So Complex. In Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/e/race-vs-ethnicity/

Peterson, M., De Witte, K, & Holz, O. (2023). State of Inclusive Education in Flanders. In N. Oruc-Erturk, & A. Yürekli (Eds.), Inclusive Education: Definition and Conceptual Framework (pp. 93-118). Waxmann. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Inclusive_Education.html?id=p3DFEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

PeQueen, C. (2016). Cultural Competence in Higher Education Faculty: A Case Study. Ph.D. Thesis. Keiser University, FL, USA.

Taylor, S., & Sidhu, R. K. (2011). Supporting refugee students in schools: what constitutes inclusive education? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16(1), 39–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110903560085

Tsiaousi, P. & Chiou, V. (2024). Teacher voices on teaching students with a refugee background in Greece. International Journal of Educational Research, 127, 102432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102432

Woodley, X. M., & Parra, L. (2019). (Re)Framing and (Re)designing Instruction: Transformed Teaching in Traditional and Online Classrooms. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal, 12(1), 1-11. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=tG3dTDQAAAAJ&citation_for_view=tG3dTDQAAAAJ:aqlVkmm33-oC




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejoe.v10i2.6022

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2016-2026. European Journal of Open Education and E-learning Studies (ISSN 2501-9120) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).