Democratization in eLearning Before and During COVID-19 : A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis
department or school: Education, Faculty of
department or school: Educational Studies (EDST), Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Jazienicki, Amy Heidi
issued: 2021-06-11T16:13:41Z
issued: 2021-04-18
description: This paper aims to evaluate the viability of ‘democratizing’ eLearning within the global neoliberal economy. ‘Democratization’ is examined through several focus areas, namely the digital divide, socioeconomic status, gender, and social justice in curricula. These facets of ‘democratization’ are scrutinized specifically through corporate and university eLearning discourse, focusing principally on adult learners. The central objective is to determine to what extent eLearning can be ‘democratized’ for 21st century learners. The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted eLearning to the forefront of education and has been urgently implemented globally across corporations, higher educational institutions, and K-12 schools. eLearning discourse has been imbued with terms such as ‘accessibility’, ‘flexibility’, and ‘engagement’. The paper explores how these discourses could be reconstituted to live up to the promises of ‘democratization’ through Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), and asserts that policymakers, post-secondary institutions, and companies must cultivate learning environments in which learners’ full inclusion and development is prioritized.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/78606
note: Democratization in eLearning Before and During COVID-19: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis Research Paper for ETEC 580: Directed Study Master of Educational Technology (MET) Program, University of British Columbia MET Candidate Amy Jazienicki The University of British Columbia Supervisor Dr. Jennifer Jenson The University of British Columbia Abstract This paper aims to evaluate the viability of ‘democratizing’ eLearning within the global neoliberal economy. ‘Democratization’ is examined through several focus areas, namely the digital divide, socioeconomic status, gender, and social justice in curricula. These facets of ‘democratization’ are scrutinized specifically through corporate and university eLearning discourse, focusing principally on adult learners. The central objective is to determine to what extent eLearning can be ‘democratized’ for 21st century learners. The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted eLearning to the forefront of education and has been urgently implemented globally across corporations, higher educational institutions, and K-12 schools. eLearning discourse has been imbued with terms such as ‘accessibility’, ‘flexibility’, and ‘engagement’. The paper explores how these discourses could be reconstituted to live up to the promises of ‘democratization’ through Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), and asserts that policymakers, post-secondary institutions, and companies must cultivate learning environments in which learners’ full inclusion and development is prioritized. Keywords: Accessibility, flexibility, engagement, democratization, eLearning, the digital divide, inequality, equity, equality, socioeconomics, gender, social justice, Foucault, Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), COVID-19, 21st century Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Background ...........................................................…
has type: Other
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0398337
language: eng
peer review status: Unreviewed
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
is part of: University of British Columbia. ETEC 580
subject: accessibility, flexibility, engagement, democratization, eLearning, the digital divide, inequality, equity, equality, socioeconomics, gender, social justice, Foucault, Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), COVID-19, 21st century
subject: accessibility
subject: flexibility
subject: engagement
subject: democratization
subject: eLearning
subject: the digital divide
subject: inequality
subject: equity
subject: equality
subject: socioeconomics
subject: gender
subject: social justice
subject: Foucault
subject: Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA)
subject: COVID-19
subject: 21st century
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78606