Distance course design principles for culturally diverse learners: A research on Anadolu University's Azerbaijan programs

The basic aim of this research is to determine culturally sensitive course design principles in online learning environments for culturally diverse learners and to examine the opinions of distance learners studying at Anadolu University Open Education System Azerbaijan programs about the e-learning environment (portal). Accordingly, based on detailed literature review and Badrul Khan's (2005) check-list named as "e-learning framework" a 3 level Likert scale survey consisting of 24 items and six demographic questions was developed. The face and content validity of the survey was approved and the questionnaire was voluntarily answered by 305 students registered to Anadolu University Azerbaijani Programs who visited the student bureau for registration and academic consultancy reasons in 2014-2015 academic year. According to the findings of the analysis, it is determined that usage preferences and usage frequencies of course materials, preferred communication methods throughout the course and activities, preferred communication methods related to administrative issues are related with the cultural differences. Besides, it is determined that usage status and frequencies of e-learning environments indicate significant differences related with some dimensions of the study. Additionally, the data on reasons for use and non-use of the portal were obtained from the participants. The results shall contribute to better determining culturally sensitive course design principles in online learning environments for efficient and meaningful learning, and also contribute to the discipline with the new scale developed for the purposes of this thesis. Besides, it is believed that the results obtained from this study will contribute to developing international programs courses, student support services, and culturally diverse learning environments such as MOOCs, decision-making processes of institutions and universities aiming internationalization. Keywords: Distance education, Open and distance learning, e-Learning, Cultural diversity, Instructional design