Learning at Telecentres: A Study on Indigenising Instructional Design for Communities at Remote Rural Sarawak
Loading...
Date
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK
Abstract
Description
Disparities among the communities with access to ICT development are especially apparent for those located in geographically remote and rural areas. Governments, agencies, and organisations worldwide have rolled out various ICT-related projects, with telecentres being the most widely adopted and deployed model in developing countries. Although many learning activities have been implemented at these telecentres for the communities they serve, most of the literature has focused primarily on user acceptance, human development, sustainability, telecentre performance, and impact assessment, rather than the delivery of learning and training activities at the telecentre. By first studying the initial ICT literacy training programme at the telecentres, the study focused on examining the potential to build culturally inclusive instructional design and how it could stimulate knowledge sharing and co-creation among indigenous community members. The study then examined how a community-led learning programme was implemented at two research sites, focusing on culture-based aspects that were not adequately considered in ICT literacy training programmes, such as culturally-specific instructional strategies, culture-specific assessments, and a focus on cultural artefacts, history, and knowledge. The study also looked into the benefits of using an indigenous instructional design at these telecentres, and self-determination theory was used to see how well the indigenous instructional design could satisfy the three psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to strengthen intrinsic motivation. The study also examined the role of telecentres today in supporting the learning needs of indigenous communities, especially in fostering knowledge sharing and co-creation. v Document data, interview data, and observations were retrieved from informants who were members of project teams that initiated ICT literacy training and a community-led learning programme at selected research sites in Sarawak, as well as indigenous communities that participated in the training and learning programmes. Findings from the interview data highlighted that the indigenous communities revealed a need for a learning environment that catered to their needs as indigenous learners rather than one that suited more formal settings. It also showed that when these cultural aspects were purposively included in the instructional design model, the motivation to share and co-create knowledge was strengthened, indicating the value of using an indigenised instructional model. The study identifies critical considerations for effectively implementing learning and training programmes that would support the basic psychological needs and foster learning motivation among the indigenous community members. The study proposes an indigenised instructional design model that adopts a selection of requirements established in previous studies and community feedback.