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effectively (Shopova, 2014) aspirations and expectations, self-
confidence, and self-esteem.
• not able to determine the validity of
the information found online Diverse students with digital diversity
can be recognised through critical
• not understanding copyright issues
when using digital information for pedagogy. Premises of critical pedagogy
sharing purposes. interrogates education in exploring
economic, linguistic, and institutional
Digital inclusion is important for those barriers to digital inclusion. Teemant
who understand the role of the internet and Hausman (2013) recommended
and digital technologies in the emerging critical pedagogical practices that focus
knowledge-based society (Norris, 2003; on the potential for democratizing
Selwyn, 2004). However, many students effects and strengthening learner
do not have access to the internet and activity. The shift is articulated towards
related technologies. This results in inquiry-based, student-centred learning
them being digitally excluded. that promotes higher-order technology
uses and study of issues relevant to
Managing Digital Inclusion learner lives and situations.
The issue of socio-economic status is
a challenge for students' learning. The Conclusion
educational institutions should identify An analysis of the digital divide highlights
their students' level of competence and how digital inequality compounds the
take steps to minimise the gap in their discrimination faced by the poor and
ability differences. These challenges, the technologically illiterate. Education
summarised from literature, can technology is accessible, available, and
broadly be classified into the following affordable only to certain privileged
areas: sections of the society in the education

• Institutional and financial factors system. The deprived section excludes
including availability, affordability, from the information society causing
and access to resources, and socio- digital exclusion. The majority of the
economic status student population does not get access
to the internet as they live in remote
• Socio-cultural factors including and interior villages. Therefore, ICT
societal, institutional, and family technology is inaccessible, unavailable,
support and unaffordable to the rural poor
• It establishes dispositional and and the marginalized. This results in
attitudinal elements; developing the gross neglect of the needs of the
a ‘mind-set’ towards technological neediest. This is the challenge of digital
innovations. inclusion and equity. Research on
performances in ICT skills of students is,
• Language and cultural barriers
therefore, turned into research on the
• Individual factors such as schooling digital divide and digital inclusion.
experiences and performance,

286 Indian Journal of Educational Technology
Volume 3, Issue 2, July 2021