Findings from a Case Study on Refugees Using MOOCs to (Re)enter Higher Education

This paper presents a case study evaluating the online learning experience of ten refugees on MOOCs. Qualitative data were collected from the learners, generating a set of 43 statements depicting the learners’ experience of learning, which were analysed using an augmented Community of Inquiry (CoI) theoretical framework. The key findings show that learners particularly desired teaching presence in terms of facilitation and feedback on their progress; they viewed online social presence as being important but generally not well managed in MOOCs; and they expressed cognitive presence mainly in terms of the selection and use of information sources. Learning presence (the additional element of the “augmented” Co  framework was described primarily in terms of the importance of goal-setting and planning. The implication  for organisations supporting refugees and other learners in disadvantaged circumstances on MOOCs are discussed.