Significance of anonymity and privacy in improving inclusivity and diversity in Higher Education Learning Environments

TL;DR

This study explores how anonymity and privacy in online interactions can enhance inclusivity and diversity in higher education, especially in Computer Science, by analyzing student and lecturer perspectives through interviews and questionnaires.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that anonymity and privacy significantly improve student participation and inclusivity in higher education learning environments.

Findings

Students prefer anonymous online surveys and evaluations.

A gap exists between preferred and actual communication methods.

Anonymity and privacy support diversity and inclusivity.

Abstract

Interactions between lecturers and students are the key to learning in the higher education environment. In this paper, the investigation pursues two different contexts to understand these interactions and the impact of anonymity and privacy in different interactions in the Computer Science (CS) department. The first context "different interaction between a lecturer and students" is investigated using phenomenological research approach by interviewing lecturer in CS ($N_a = 5$). The second context "the significance of anonymity and privacy in interactions" is investigated using a quantitative and qualitative questionnaire-based research method using an online student questionnaire ($N_b = 53$). The study finds a large gap between students' perception of preferred communication methods and the use of the same communication method. From the second context study, it is evident that "anonymity and privacy" in online surveys and module evaluations are preferred by all student participants, thus supporting diversity and inclusivity.