ERIC Number: ED616296
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jun-11
Pages: 40
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Digital Divide in UK Education during COVID-19 Pandemic: Literature Review. Research Report
Coleman, Victoria
Cambridge Assessment
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on education worldwide. Countries around the world have had to go into lockdown, leading to widespread school closures which required education to be delivered remotely (UNESCO, 2021). Remote education can take various forms, but in many contexts, it has relied on the use of digital technology. In the UK, COVID-19 led to nationwide school closures in March 2020, with most children receiving remote education until the start of the new school year in September 2020. Increases in COVID-19 cases led to a second period of school closure in January 2021, with students again learning remotely until March/April 2021. There are concerns that the move to remote education has led to inequalities in access to learning. Specifically, there are concerns that there is a digital divide, resulting in digital inequality, with already disadvantaged children being most affected. The digital divide has various dimensions: as well as access to devices and internet, digital skills are important, as are external factors such as parental support, teacher skills and learning environment. This report reviews and summarises research that has examined aspects of the digital divide during COVID-19 related school closure in the UK. Given the recency and ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is limited published academic literature examining aspects of the digital divide in education, and so most of the research considered in this report is 'grey literature'. There is evidence of a digital divide in education in terms of access, as well as parent, teacher and learning environment factors, with differences across different school types and groups of students. Very few studies considered digital skills and so this warrants further investigation.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Access to Computers, Disadvantaged, COVID-19, Pandemics, Distance Education, Electronic Learning, School Closing, Educational Research, Elementary Secondary Education
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (Cambridge Assessment). The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8EA, UK. Tel: +44-1223-55331; Fax: +44-1223-460278; e-mail: info@cambridgeassessment.org.uk; Web site: https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Cambridge Assessment (United Kingdom)
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A