Family Conditions and the Accessibility of Online Education: The Digital Divide and Mediating Factors

Abstract

This study is an exploration of the digital divide between urban and rural areas, and it was conducted to assess the impact of the minimum living guarantee system on online education in China. The results of the research showed that 83.38% of students in low-income families have been able to participate in online education at home during the pandemic, while 16.62% of students in low-income families have been unable to do so. The absence of computers, smartphones, and broadband Internet access in low-income households reduces the likelihood of children being able to participate in online education at home. In terms of accessing online education at home, students from urban areas have obvious advantages over those from rural ones, and students from minimum living guarantee families have obvious advantages over those from marginal minimum living guarantee ones. This study also showed that the presence of online education-related amenities, including computers, smartphones, and Internet access, mediates the relationship between the subsistence allowance system, Hukou, and accessibility of online education. To address this issue, this paper includes suggestions for bridging the digital divide in online education.

Impact of Living Conditions on Online Education: Evidence from China

“…Thus, broadband Internet and online education are complementary [48]. The lack of personal computers and smartphones force students to seek external help from neighbors, communities, and the local government [9,17]. In China, students borrow the equipment and network from their neighbor, seek the public facilities of the community, or receive assistance directly from the local government [17,18].…”

“…The lack of personal computers and smartphones force students to seek external help from neighbors, communities, and the local government [9,17]. In China, students borrow the equipment and network from their neighbor, seek the public facilities of the community, or receive assistance directly from the local government [17,18]. Sometimes, when the Internet signal at home is poor, students climb to the top of a nearby mountain to receive the signal for online learning.…”

“…"Minimum living guarantee" families are headed by parents whose monthly income is lower than the standard local minimum living allowance, due to physical disability or illness [80]. These parents can avail themselves of a national minimum living guarantee subsidy, and the government provides educational subsidies to fund their children's education [17]. The qualification of low-income families for the subsistence allowance determines whether the family can obtain a series of government subsidies in the fields of housing, health, education, and so on.…”

“…Therefore, living conditions and the students' learning activities are closely related and coexist. Based on the semiprivate space perspective, the latest empirical evidence shows that students' housing conditions can significantly impact the accessibility of online education at home [17,18]. However, this relationship between living conditions and online education performance is still poorly understood, and lacks empirical evidence.…”

Avances en investigación científica. Tomo III: Ciencias multidisciplinarias

“…Esta situación se concentra principalmente entre alumnos de instituciones públicas. Por su parte, los estudiantes de zonas urbanas, por lo general, suelen tener ventajas significativas sobre los de entornos rurales en términos de conectividad (Gu, 2021).…”