ERIC Number: EJ1206940
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0007-1013
EISSN: N/A
Mitigating the Urban-Rural Educational Gap in Developing Countries through Mobile Technology-Supported Learning
Khan, Sharifullah; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Azeem Abbas, Muhammad; Rehman, Arshia
British Journal of Educational Technology, v50 n2 p735-749 Mar 2019
One form of educational inequality is the disparity that exists between urban and rural settings. Equal distribution of quality education is a challenge for developing countries due to the unavailability of resources. Various approaches to equal distribution are distance learning, telecast learning and e-learning; however, these approaches cannot achieve the desired objectives due to their limitations. This research aimed to investigate the interesting question of whether mobile technology can bring urban and rural settings closer together. A mobile application for learning Urdu grammar was designed to measure the learning gains of fourth-grade students at two different schools from urban and rural settings. A quantitative technique, the quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test method, was used to measure the effectiveness of the mobile application. The comparison of the students' performances at the urban and rural schools illustrated the role of mobile technology in mitigating the educational gap. The present study provides evidence that children from different social backgrounds may benefit equally from mobile technology.
Descriptors: Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Rural Urban Differences, Equal Education, Educational Quality, Developing Nations, Urdu, Grammar, Grade 4, Rural Schools, Urban Schools, Program Effectiveness, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A