ICT in education can improve students’ achievements in rural China: The role of parents, educators and authorities

Abstract

Based on a quasi-natural experiment of the Three Links Project (TLP) implemented in rural China, we explore the impact of ICT in education on students’ achievements. By using the difference-in-differences (DID) method, we find that TLP implementations result in a 3.4340-point increase in students' test scores and cognitive and noncognitive ability scores increased by 0.1631 and 0.0405 points, respectively. Results of mechanism tests show that this positive effect is explained by the improvement of teachers' efforts and enthusiasm, the increase of parental involvement in education, and positive student responses. Moreover, heterogeneity analysis results suggest that TLP implementations have a greater positive effect on achievements of some disadvantaged students, such as girls, non-only children, and those from relatively low-income families. This study highlights the benefits of ICT in education and reveals the positive role of parents, educators, and authorities in promoting student achievement and human capital accumulation. Furthermore, our findings complement the research field on educational inequity and have some insights for China and other developing countries.