Technological Devices and Digital Competences: A Look into the Digital Divides for University Continuity during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Elmis Jonatan García Zare (), Segundo Eloy Soto Abanto, Noelia Patricia Rodriguez Paredes, Teresita del Rosario Merino Salazar, Sandra Elizabeth Pagador Flores, Jorge Luis Baldárrago Baldárrago, Jorge Adrian Salas-Ruiz and Patricia Isabel Mejía Pardo
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Elmis Jonatan García Zare: Jefatura de Investigación—SUBE, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Segundo Eloy Soto Abanto: Jefatura de Investigación—SUBE, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Noelia Patricia Rodriguez Paredes: Jefatura de Investigación—SUBE, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Teresita del Rosario Merino Salazar: Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Sandra Elizabeth Pagador Flores: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Jorge Luis Baldárrago Baldárrago: Jefatura de Investigación—Lima Norte, Universidad César Vallejo, Lima 15314, Peru
Jorge Adrian Salas-Ruiz: Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Patricia Isabel Mejía Pardo: Jefatura de Investigación—SUBE, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Virtual education has gained great relevance in recent years, due to the pandemic. The access to electronic devices and services represents an urgent necessity and thus the concern for acquiring digital competences, which allow a proper interaction within the teaching–learning process. Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of having digital resources and the adaptability of their use from the university students’ homes during the pandemic crisis. This research intends to identify the relevant challenges regarding the accessibility to technological devices and digital competences that university students had to face to obtain suitable learning during the lockdown, due to the pandemic. The sample information consisted of 9326 Peruvian university students. The data was obtained from the National Homes Survey from the Statistics and Information National Institute, and it was distributed in twenty-five regions (in groups of five macro-regions) over a period of three years (2019–2021). The results showed significant differences in the number of students with internet access from home: between 40% and 60% access classes with a desktop or laptop, and digital competences have improved in the last year. This is evidence that digital divides set limits on the opportunities for a quality education.

Keywords: education resources; digital divides; information technology; online learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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