How Did the Covid-19 Pandemic Exacerbate the Digital Divide at Secondary Education
The Case of Two Chinese Schools
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8924155 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Beibei Yu (0000-0002-9076-5597, Zhejiang Normal University), Wu Guo (0000-0001-8022-1433, corresponding author), Wu Yuan Guo (Shenzhen Baoan Haile Experimental School), Yi-Chao Huang (0000-0002-1887-6508, China Jiliang University), Yichao Huang (0000-0003-2320-2919, China Jiliang University), Ye Hu (0000-0003-4210-1304, Education University of Hong Kong), Miaomiao Jia (Cardiff University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 5-6 |
| Pages | 504-521 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-1946 • E-ISSN: 1532-6993 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00131946.2023.2274345 |
| OpenAlex | W4388407742 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 25 |
In major public health crises, online education can play an important role in guaranteeing the continuity of education. However, whether online education can promote educational equity has been questioned widely. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed severe challenges students face in online teaching. Based on Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction and 34 interviews with participants including students, parents, and teachers, this research adopted a case study approach to explore the digital divide among Chinese rural and urban secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that despite measures adopted by the Chinese government, a wider digital divide has been created between urban and rural secondary schools, and the online learning result was heavily influenced by the socioeconomic status of both the individuals and the schools they attended. More specifically, compared with urban students, rural students had less access to sui digital devices and environment, quality-parental guide and supervision, effective teachers’ instruction, and worse habitus and less ability in independent online learning. Overall, this study calls on policymakers, leaders, educators, and parents to take collective actions to create a more effective online educational environment for students from the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Cultural capital · Digital divide · Disadvantaged · Economic growth · Equity (law · Government (linguistics · Habitus · Mathematics education · Pandemic · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Child Development and Digital Technology · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Medicine · Psychology · Social Media and Politics
Digital Inequality
Education Inequality between Rural and Urban Areas of the People's Republic of China, Migrants’ Children Education, and Some Implications
The Forms of Capital
Factors influencing digital technology use in early childhood education
Case Study Research
Distinction
Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture
Competing for privilege –aspirational youth at a Chinese high school entrepreneurship competition
Rural students’ experiences in a Chinese elite university
Meritocracy and the Gaokao
Guanxi and school success
The digital divide at school and at home
The marginality of migrant children in the urban Chinese educational system
Qualitative inquiry and research design
Is There a Digital Divide Between Urban Students and Migrant Students in China
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |