Digital divide among higher education faculty

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Education Technology
• Information Science

Background:

• The digital divide, encompassing access, motivation, skills, and usage of information and communication technologies (ICT), is more pronounced in developing nations.
• A notable gap exists in research concerning the digital divide among higher education faculty, particularly in developing countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate digital inequalities among Pakistani faculty at physical, motivational, skills, and usage levels.
• To examine how personal and positional categories influence faculty's ICT access.
• To explore the relationship between faculty's instructional ICT usage and other dimensions of ICT access.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 57-item Faculty's ICT Access (FICTA) scale to assess digital inequalities.
• Investigated digital inequalities across four levels: physical access, motivation, skills, and usage.
• Analyzed data concerning faculty's personal and positional categories.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were found in faculty's ICT access across the four levels, varying by personal and positional attributes.
• The study identified disparities in ICT access and usage among Pakistani university faculty.
• Findings support and extend van Dijk's framework on successive kinds of ICT access.

Conclusions:

• Personal and positional factors significantly shape the digital divide experienced by higher education faculty.
• Addressing these inequalities is crucial for effective technology integration in Pakistani higher education.
• The study provides empirical evidence for theoretical frameworks on digital inequality in academic settings.