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The Educational Digital Divide for Vulnerable Students in the Pandemic: Towards the New Agenda 2030

Author

Listed:
  • Helmi Norman

    (Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Nor Hafizah Adnan

    (Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Norazah Nordin

    (Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Mohamed Ally

    (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada)

  • Avgoustos Tsinakos

    (Department of Computer Science, International Hellenic University, 65404 Kavala, Greece)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused school closures worldwide and has disrupted nearly 1.6 billion students across the globe. This has widened existing digital gaps and has caused vulnerable students to be further digitally displaced. In efforts to mitigate this issue, various strategies have been used to cater for the educational digital divide of vulnerable students. However, there is a lack of studies investigating the relationship between access and connectivity of learning and use and exploitation of technology, particularly with regards to iPads during the pandemic. Thus, the present study investigates this scenario by examining the digital educational divide for vulnerable students in the pandemic, in terms of access and connectivity and use and exploitation. A survey was distributed to 518 vulnerable students in schools between the ages of 10 and 15 years old, and results were analyzed using partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that asynchronous learning is a stronger construct than synchronous learning, while creativity skills was stronger than productivity skills with regard to the use and exploitation of technology for pandemic learning of vulnerable students. This study’s findings could assist future developers and educators in the development of effective emergency teaching and learning strategies and design.

Suggested Citation

  • Helmi Norman & Nor Hafizah Adnan & Norazah Nordin & Mohamed Ally & Avgoustos Tsinakos, 2022. "The Educational Digital Divide for Vulnerable Students in the Pandemic: Towards the New Agenda 2030," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-17, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:16:p:10332-:d:892563
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hair, Joe F. & Howard, Matt C. & Nitzl, Christian, 2020. "Assessing measurement model quality in PLS-SEM using confirmatory composite analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 101-110.
    2. -, 2020. "Education in the time of COVID-19," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45905 edited by Eclac, February.
    3. João Pedro & Amer Hasan & Diana Goldemberg & Koen Geven & Syedah Aroob Iqbal, 2021. "Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes: A Set of Global Estimates [Tackling Inequity in Education during and after COVID-19]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 1-40.
    4. repec:ecr:col016:45905 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Szarmilaa Dewie Krishnan & Helmi Norman & Melor Md Yunus, 2021. "Online Gamified Learning to Enhance Teachers’ Competencies Using Classcraft," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-24, September.
    6. Haida Umiera Hashim & Melor Md Yunus & Helmi Norman, 2022. "‘AReal-Vocab’: An Augmented Reality English Vocabulary Mobile Application to Cater to Mild Autism Children in Response towards Sustainable Education for Children with Disabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. F. Alifah M. Jaaffar & Nor Hafizah Adnan, 2025. "Metaverse Platforms in Enhancing Student Interest in Teaching and Learning: A Pilot Study on Cryptography Using Ciphersphere," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(2), pages 4384-4403, February.

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