The digital divide research in sub-Saharan education: Representations, localisation of elements, and theoretical implications

Abstract

Research on the digital divide in sub-Saharan education needs an overview of its conceptual developments and practices since the studies in the field of the digital divide emerged and were established around the mid-1990s. The present systematic literature review fills such a gap by using mixed methods to analyse three aspects of research on the theme and context. Considering a sample of 54 studies, the selected aspects to analyse were key representations (of regions, areas of education, and focused groups), general elements to influence the exclusion of digital education, and adopted research designs. Results led discussions concerning significant imbalanced representations of subjects, localisation of characteristics of the elements across regions, and hidden spots and limitations of research impact, potentially motivated by theory-ladenness. The present study intends to contribute to the development of digital divide studies contextualising sub-Saharan regions with comments based on thorough examinations of attainments and failures of previous endeavours, contributing to more successful future research as a consequence.