Defining Culturally Responsive Digital Education for Classrooms: Writing from Oceania to Build Indigenous Pacific Futures

Abstract

Digital education, technology-rich schools, and smart classrooms particularly configured by cloud-computing and blended-learning programs are growing. Participation in education is a key factor affecting the life chances for Indigenous children of the Pacific, yet they have lower rates of participation than non-Indigenous people. Pacific twenty-first-century learning requires new cultur-ally inclusive spaces that do not override Indigenous cultures but draw upon them as a learning foundation on which to build new digital learning. Research on technology and equity as a means of raising school achievement are becoming more attractive in education systems seeking to improve school processes and outcomes. Although international research in this area is extensive, covering about two decades, there are still gaps in its research base specifically on the concept of Culturally Responsive Digital Education for Indigenous peoples. While literature on culturally responsive schooling (CRS) for academic improve-ment of American Indian and Alaska Natives peoples has emerged, this literature is yet to theorize Indigenous online education and complimentary teacher peda-gogy, especially in the Pacific. This chapter will define culturally responsive digital schooling (CRDS) for Indigenous peoples of the Pacific drawing from robust information communication technology (ICT) research, critical and CRS studies. This chapter first argues the need for CRDS that comprises of three interdependent dimensions of " benefits, " " decolonization, " and " cultural respon-siveness. " Understanding these dimensions are necessary before purpose, effects, or impact of CRDS can be understood. Finally, the chapter defines CRDS and proposes a ten-point model as a cultural standard to support CRDS Indigenous schooling in the Pacific.