Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
Digital education is often promoted as a solution to educational inequities in rural, northern, and Indigenous communities in Canada and globally. However, despite increasing investments, educational outcomes in these contexts remain uneven and vulnerable to disruption. Existing digital divide research focuses primarily on accessibility to resources or skills development, offering limited insight into how educational systems build, or sustain digital capacity over time. This study conducts an integrative literature review of peer-reviewed research on digital inequality, rural broadband, Indigenous digital governance, and digital education in northern and rural Canada. With a literature review, we develop the concept of Educational Digital Capacity (EDC). The findings show how interactions among infrastructural, institutional, human, cultural, and governance capacities shape educational continuity, adaptation, and long-term transformation under conditions of structural constraint.
Paper Number
1851
Recommended Citation
Pascua-Matte, Adeleine S.; Ahuja, Suchit; Sadreddin, Arman; and Ali, Rasha, "Exploring Structural Barriers to Education in Northern Canada: A Review & Synthesis" (2026). AMCIS 2026 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2026/sig_globdev/sig_globdev/6
Exploring Structural Barriers to Education in Northern Canada: A Review & Synthesis
Digital education is often promoted as a solution to educational inequities in rural, northern, and Indigenous communities in Canada and globally. However, despite increasing investments, educational outcomes in these contexts remain uneven and vulnerable to disruption. Existing digital divide research focuses primarily on accessibility to resources or skills development, offering limited insight into how educational systems build, or sustain digital capacity over time. This study conducts an integrative literature review of peer-reviewed research on digital inequality, rural broadband, Indigenous digital governance, and digital education in northern and rural Canada. With a literature review, we develop the concept of Educational Digital Capacity (EDC). The findings show how interactions among infrastructural, institutional, human, cultural, and governance capacities shape educational continuity, adaptation, and long-term transformation under conditions of structural constraint.
When commenting on articles, please be friendly, welcoming, respectful and abide by the AIS eLibrary Discussion Thread Code of Conduct posted here.
Comments
SIG GLOB DEV