Introduction
This chapter examines three important equity themes that impact on the educational use of digital technologies – gender, digital divide and rurality. The chapter begins with the issue of gender, since the under-representation of female students in digital technologies subjects in upper secondary school education and the resultant under-representation in university education and the ICT industry has been an enduring problem. This is despite numerous research studies and different types of affirmative action strategies being undertaken. These include programs such as school-based ICT clubs for girls and special events targeting the recruitment of girls or industry-based programs and initiatives to address the ongoing difficulties with adequate female recruitment. Following this is a section on the digital divide, and the concluding section examines issues associated with rurality and digital technologies in education.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS
Why is gender under-representation in ICT/digital technology subjects important?
What are the key factors leading to gender disparity and how can it be redressed?
What is the ‘digital divide’ and is it an issue we need to worry about in Australia?
How does rurality impact on equity, and how can we plan for it in digital technology access and outcomes?
Gender and digital technologies
The gender divide
Unfortunately the gender disparity reported in digital technology-related school subjects over a decade ago continues unabated (Anderson et al., 2005; Lyons et al., 2012).
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