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Representation in 21st Century Online Higher Education

This chapter examines representation of women and minorities in 21st century higher education with regard to how the online learning culture serves diverse students. Over the past two decades, faculty and student representation by women and minorities has increased, while online learning has also grown exponentially, becoming almost ubiquitous in its reach and scope. Even with differences across institutions (public versus private, size of the university, and populations served), the online learning environment has a seemingly agreed-upon set of rules, standards, and practices. Arguably, online learning has a distinct culture, which can thus be viewed through the lens of Vygotskyian sociocultural theory. While online learning may have some perceived downsides, a potential benefit is that the nature of the technology and the agreed-upon culture of 21st century online learning across institutions may serve to mask and inhibit implicit bias and thus level the playing field for women and minority students and faculty in higher education.