This article changed my perception of exclusion within learning environment, enabling me to reflect on my personal experiences and form new approaches to social presence in online learning.
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"Therefore, establishing social presence within an online course is critical in order for all identities, experiences, beliefs, and knowledge sets to be accepted rather than marginalized. When online learners perceive or experience feelings of otherness they may encounter identity incongruence, may feel a lack of social presence, and may have a weak sense of community with their peers." (Phirangee & Malec, 2017, p.161)
Phirangee & Malec (2017) in their article "Othering in online learning: an examination of social presence, identity, and sense of community" examine the notion of ‘othering’ in the online learning environment. In order to establish the framework for research they adopt a definition of ‘othering’ proposed by Said (1978): “othering occurs when those who differ from the dominant ideas are devalued and set apart as the other” (p.162) and further developed through the concept of Orientalism. According to their literature review, studies indicate that despite the attempts of instructors to adopt ‘the social nature of learning’ in online courses, many students still feel excluded. The practice of online community is based on social presence (feeling the presence of others) and students feeling comfortable with expressing their multiple identities. However, some students experience identity incongruence instead, as their identity does not fit with the group. As a result those students feel weak sense of community with their peers what evokes negative feelings and affects their participation in the online learning.
The authors further examined the phenomena by conducting a case study of 6 learners. In their findings, 3 motives are being distinguished as categories of ‘othering’:
- The professional other- a person is excluded on the basis of their work obligations conflicting with their academic responsibilities
- The academic other- a person is othered due to their difference in approach of engaging in discussion
- The ethic other- a person is othered based on their ethnicity or difference in experience.
The authors highlight the impact of their study on instructors of the online courses. The responsibility of the instructor is to “interact with their students within the online course, which allows them to adopt specific instructional strategies that will help moderate any core beliefs or behaviours of the community that may other some students.”(p162) Moreover, both students and the instructor should be actively seeking to express students multiple identities with the course to mitigate the occurrence of ‘othering’.
References: Phirangee, K., & Malec, A. (2017). Othering in online learning: an examination of social presence, identity, and sense of community. Distance Education, 1-13.
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