ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Digital Education
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Transformative Impact of Digital Tools on Quality Education and Sustainable DevelopmentView all 9 articles
Examining the digital divide in higher education using a three-level digital divide theoretical framework: A structural equation modeling approach
Provisionally accepted
- The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, SAR China
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The digital divide is a persistent and widespread issue of inequality globally, exacerbated in recent years by the rise of online learning and advancements in information technologies. This study investigates the digital divide in higher education using a robust theoretical framework and proposes practical strategies. A total of 438 university students participated in the questionnaire surveys. The study employed structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships among the three levels of the digital divide. The results indicate that the digital access divide positively correlates with the digital capability divide, which in turn positively influences the digital outcome divide. Specifically, home computer usage for both study and leisure, the university's IT culture, and the quality of IT training were significant predictors of computer self-efficacy, while university IT resource usage did not have a significant impact. Furthermore, computer self-efficacy emerged as a significant predictor of knowledge and skill outcomes. This study contributes to the development of a theoretical framework for understanding the digital divide in higher education and offers practical implications for stakeholders to promote digital equity among university students. Future research is encouraged to adopt and evaluate this theoretical framework and its associated practical suggestions in other countries or regions.
Keywords: digital divide, digital equity education, higher education, Structural Equation Modeling, Theoretical framework
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 19 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Fang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaoxuan Fang
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