https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3380 Thu, 20 Aug 2026 12:23:26 GMT 2026-08-20T12:23:26Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3390 The Role of Online Learning Platforms in Enhancing Education and Promoting Environmental Sustainability in Rohingya Refugee Camps, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh Rahman, Tofrida Bankground: Access to formal education remains restricted for Rohingya in Bangladesh, leaving many learners dependent on non-formal education with limited opportunities and resources for academic progression. In this context, online learning platforms have emerged as an alternative means of supporting learning and promoting environmental awareness. Aim: This research aims to evaluate how online platforms can enhance access to formal education in non-formal education settings and promote environmental sustainability in Rohingya refugee camps, Cox’s Bazar. Method: This study employed a community-based, cross-sectional, mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected through face-to-face questionnaire surveys with 400 participants selected using simple random sampling, while qualitative data were drawn from five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving 40 participants selected using purposive sampling, including students, parents, guardians, teachers, community members, NGO staff, and community leaders. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS, while Microsoft Excel was used for data organization and visualization. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key patterns and themes. Results: The findings revealed that participants widely perceived the current camp education system as informal, insufficient, and lacking opportunities for higher education and recognized certification. Formal education was identified as the highest priority for improving educational opportunities. Despite significant barriers, including poor internet connectivity, high mobile data costs, unreliable electricity, limited access to digital devices, and language barriers, most participants viewed online learning positively and believed it supported their learning. Qualitative findings further highlighted that online learning was regarded as "something better than nothing," providing an important opportunity to continue learning despite the absence of formal education. Conclusion: Although online learning 11 cannot replace formal schooling, it offers a valuable complementary approach for sustaining learning continuity and strengthening environmental awareness in refugee settings. Expanding digital infrastructure, improving internet accessibility, increasing access to digital devices, and developing multilingual learning resources are essential to maximizing the educational benefits of technology-supported learning for displaced populations. Evidence generated through this research would help to raise awareness about the educational and environmental needs of Rohingya refugees, leading to better policies and practices among governments, NGOs, and humanitarian actors working to expand technology-supported education and strengthen environmental sustainability in refugee settings. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3390 2026-08-01T00:00:00Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3389 Examining Faculty Instructional Practices Through the Lens of Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Implications for Addressing Learner Variability in Multicultural Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study at the Asian University for Women Sonam, Luthfun Nesa This study investigates the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education within the Global South, focusing on the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh. Although UDL is widely recognized as a framework for inclusive pedagogy, its practical application and measurable impact in diverse higher education contexts remain insufficiently examined. To address this gap, the study employs a convergent mixed-method design to assess both the extent of UDL implementation and its enactment in classroom practice. Quantitative data were collected from 67 faculty members using a structured survey grounded in UDL 3.0 considerations, capturing instructional practices across multiple academic programs and levels. The analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability testing, correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), clustering, and regression modeling to identify patterns and key predictors of UDL implementation. Qualitative data from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews provided contextual insight into teaching practices and faculty responses to learner variability. The findings indicate a high prevalence of UDL-aligned practices, particularly in engagement and representation, while action and expression remain comparatively underdeveloped. Structural constraints, including limited resources and assessment practices, further shape implementation. By integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence, the study highlights the uneven yet meaningful presence of UDL in practice and proposes a more systematic approach to its assessment. It contributes methodologically and extends empirical evidence from an underrepresented context, while emphasizing the need for holistic institutional strategies to support inclusive teaching. Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3389 2026-05-05T00:00:00Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3388 Navigating Heritage Language Maintenance, Loss, and Identity Negotiation: A Phenomenological Study of Rohingya Students Tazreen, Tahira This phenomenological study seeks to explore the lived experiences of heritage language loss, maintenance, and identity negotiation of Rohingya students amidst continuous exposure to English language. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis adapted for transcendental phenomenology. Five key themes emerged from the analysis: choosing when to hide and when to show; feeling distant from one's own language; the double-edged nature of the role of English; the creation of safe spaces for culture; and taking pride in identity. The findings show that participants had identity concealment initially, and they experienced lexical attrition as well as communicative gaps with family members due to the dominance of English. However, gradually they started considering English as a symbolic capital and as a means of academic mobility, global advocacy and historical preservation. In addition, participants found other micro-enclaves in which linguistic resistance was established, such as dormitories and digital spaces. With time, participants experienced a transition – from insecurity and stigmatized belief regarding their identity to pride and empowerment reconceptualizing their heritage language as strength. These insights offer implications for inclusive higher education practices, need for institutional support systems for language maintenance as well as for ensuring psychosocial well- being of displaced student populations. Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3388 2026-07-25T00:00:00Z https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3387 Negotiating Metacognitive Learning Strategies in a Multicultural Graduate Classroom: A Case Study of MA in Education Students at an International Liberal Arts University for Women Tapannun Sharmila, Syeda The aim of this qualitative case study was to examine the negotiation and transformation of metacognitive learning strategies of female postgraduate students from different countries, language and education backgrounds in a multicultural Master of Arts in Education program in an international liberal arts university for women in Chattogram, Bangladesh. The study was based on an interpretivist paradigm and social constructivist lens to investigate how learners' planning, monitoring, and evaluating processes change as they move from teacher-centered and examination-oriented schooling traditions to a graduate pedagogy that focuses on discussion. Qualitative data were collected and manually reflexively themed from multi-cohort samples of individual semi-structured interviews (N = 13), participant-driven photovoice submissions, and a focus group discussion. The results yielded three main themes: (1) Tactical Scaffolding and Environment Engineering in Response to Pedagogical Shock, in which participants materialized planning through physical workspaces and used generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a real- time cognitive and linguistic scaffold to address the text anxiety; (2) From Monolithic Truth to Epistemological Pluralism through Peer-Mediated Disagreement, in which sustained intercultural peer dialogue moved participants away from authority-dependent models towards contextual, pluralistic knowledge construction; and (3) Affective Self-Regulation and the Re-Anchoring of Education as a Civic Resilience Strategy, in which self-regulation extended beyond cognitive loops to include well-being practices, identity reconstruction, and a civic reorientation towards community empowerment. The study overall questions individualistic, purely cognitive Western models of metacognitive regulation by showing that metacognitive regulation in multicultural higher education is a socially distributed, culturally situated, affectively mediated and 11 technologically supported practice. The findings have significant implications for the theoretical and pedagogical aspects of supporting international students, the ethical use of AI, and culturally sustaining education in the Global South for the graduate level. Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://repository.auw.edu.bd/handle/123456789/3387 2026-07-25T00:00:00Z