The digital divide in rural education: inequalities and learning opportunities

Abstract

The digital divide in rural education persists beyond technological access, involving connectivity and teachers’ digital competencies, particularly in early childhood education, where situated evidence of its pedagogical impact remains limited. The objective of the study was to analyze how the digital divide manifested in terms of access, connectivity, and teachers’ digital competencies, and how it conditioned the pedagogical integration of digital resources in a rural Child Development Center in Santa Elena Province. A descriptive study was conducted integrating quantitative and qualitative techniques through observation, surveys, and interviews with educators from a rural Child Development Center in Santa Elena. The results revealed limitations in technological access, connectivity, and teachers’ digital competencies, a predominance of traditional methodologies, and occasional use of alternative digital resources in early childhood pedagogical practices. The study provided situated understanding of how the digital divide conditions pedagogical practices in rural early childhood education, evidencing didactic constraints linked to technological access, connectivity, and teachers’ digital competencies.