Bridging Digital Inequalities in Rural Schools in Germany: A Geographical Lottery?

Abstract

Repeatedly, it has been argued that advancements in digitalisation could be beneficial for rural areas. However, digital inequalities persist and affect rural communities as well. Schools can play a key role in bridging digital inequalities, but little attention has been paid to the specific conditions rural schools find themselves in when facing continuous digital developments. Therefore, we apply the digital inclusion lens and explore the impact of digital developments on rural schools in the German context. In 2019, we conducted 16 in-depth interviews with heads and teachers from rural elementary and secondary schools in Baden-Wurttemberg and Lower Saxony. We found that smaller rural schools especially can experience difficulties and conclude that the contribution of schools to a digital-included society is subject to a geographical lottery. This could eventually increase existing rural–urban digital inequalities and these findings are also relevant in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing a sudden switch to distance learning.

Digital Competence in Higher Education: Students’ Perception and Personal Factors

“…Regarding the variable of residential area, firstly, there is still a digital divide between rural and urban areas, resulting from demographic variables such as the age and education level of the population and the connection to the international internet [75,76]. The results in this study are consistent with [77], showing that digital competence is perceived to be on average better in university students living in urban areas.…”

Hubs, hopes and high stakes for a relatively disadvantaged low tech place

“…The municipality was found under pressure and probably also due to that, the future perspective tended to be neglected. Especially for smaller municipalities, it can be a challenge to keep constantly up to date with digital developments when they are already understaffed and underfunded (Rundel and Salemink, 2021). Thus, better support of municipalities to raise their capability to master digital adoption processes both within and beyond their organisational structure can be recommended.…”

Rural Education and Online Teaching in Wrestling with the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The reason is that phone screens are not conducive to long hours of digital online classes. Other studies affirmed that many rural students either don't have personal smartphones or they are available for a limited time (Rundel & Salemink, 2021;Padilla Rodriguez, 2021). Hence online learning during the fight against Covid-19 remains restricted to the limited availability of technological devices.…”

“…On the contrary, some empirical investigation found that online education for urban students is more convenient and successful because their parents are financially stable to afford personal laptops and smartphones for their children. This makes online learning more interesting for township students (Sosa Díaz, 2021;Rundel & Salemink, 2021).…”