Technography of Information and Communications Technologies for Education: Targeting Girls' Education

• In Event: 63.023 - Exploring Boundaries and Counternarratives of Women and Globalized Education

Abstract

This paper draws on research from the United Nations report of the Broadband Commission and studies on access, internet infrastructure, and ICT-assisted educational programs from UNESCO (2013), UNICEF (2012), and The World Bank (2012) to offer a meta-analysis of global development programs that target bridging educational gaps or expanding educational access and achievement through the use of ICT (internet communication technology). While not all development programs are mapped out, the larger INGOs devoted to ICT-assisted education--specified in the above reports—are mapped onto a geography of ICT infrastructure in order to show both gaps in educational programs as well as gaps in infrastructure. I map out points of access to education in developing nations. Thus far, my research has shown that there are spaces where there is access to ICT infrastructure, but no programs in place to draw on that infrastructure. There are also INGOs which have put in place educational programs that need ICT infrastructure, and yet there is a real lack of infrastructure. In other words, there is often a mismatch between programs devoted to creating global educational opportunities and the infrastructural needs for those programs. There are also examples of ‘fit,’ where educational programs that rely on ICT infrastructure are in areas where there is robust access to ICT infrastructure. Mapping this data—creating a technography of access and infrastructure—allows me to foreground areas where resources should be devoted more to developing ICT infrastructure versus developing educational programs that rely on ICT.
I use python coding scripts to create this technography that foregrounds variable levels of access. This type of work relies on quantitative techniques developed across multiple fields including Geography, Sociology, Computer Science, and Global Development. Specifically, I map out access points in order to draw conclusions about which populations are being served.
This map also shows the low level of access to programs specifically aimed at girls’ education, and argues for policy changes that could lead to greater access to ICT and education supported by ICT for girls in developing areas. Centering girls’ access to schooling allows for a discussion of ways that policy and future INGO intervention could benefit girls. Due to cultural factors, girls often have less access to both physical schools and educational programs that rely on ICT, thus creating a need for programs that specifically take up those cultural factors to create more access to education for girls (Dufflo, 2012).
This study is significant because it makes visible areas where educational programs exist, but without the requisite support, and also where there is the needed infrastructural support, but a lack of programs that could take advantage of such support; while specifically targeting girls’ access to education. This paper contributes to both theory and policy practices of using ICT for education in globalized contexts.

References in larger document.

Authors

• Heather Greenhalgh-Spencer, Texas Tech University

• Mohja Jerbi, Texas Tech University