How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Exacerbate the Digital Divide at Secondary Education: The Case of Two Chinese Schools

In major public health crises, online education can play an important role in guaranteeing the continuity of education. However, whether online education can promote educational equity has been questioned widely. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed severe challenges students face in online teaching. Based on Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction and 34 interviews with participants including students, parents, and teachers, this research adopted a case study approach to explore the digital divide among Chinese rural and urban secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that despite measures adopted by the Chinese government, a wider digital divide has been created between urban and rural secondary schools, and the online learning result was heavily influenced by the socioeconomic status of both the individuals and the schools they attended. More specifically, compared with urban students, rural students had less access to sui digital devices and environment, quality-parental guide and supervision, effective teachers’ instruction, and worse habitus and less ability in independent online learning. Overall, this study calls on policymakers, leaders, educators, and parents to take collective actions to create a more effective online educational environment for students from the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.