Digital Technologies in a Physical World: Implications from a Critical Qualitative Case Study in the Mountainous Region of Upper Svaneti, Georgia

• In Event: Complexities and challenges facing teachers in Georgia, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Proposal

Although the importance of digital technologies in education and society continues to increase, our world remains a physical world constrained by physical realities. This has broad implications for education and demonstrates the value of incorporating geographical and spatial perspectives into educational research. Accordingly, this paper presents the findings of a critical qualitative case study that sought to understand the experiences of teachers in the rural and mountainous historical-geographic region of Upper Svaneti in the Greater Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, with emphases on the relationship between the physical environment and access to/usage of digital technologies in rural and remote mountainous communities and the coinciding digital divide that remains between rural and urban areas.

Several concepts, theories, and perspectives informed this study, including geographical and spatial concepts, Critical Rural Theory (CRT) and urbanormativity (Thomas, Lowe, Fulkerson, & Smith, 2011), and the mountain social-ecological systems (MtSES) conceptual model put forth by Klein et al. (2019). Geographical perspectives encourage recognition of the “physical, material attributes of the greater world that surrounds human experience” and highlight spatial inequalities impacting educational phenomena (Helfenbein & Buendía, 2017). CRT and urbanormativity emphasize the impact of power structures, asserting that in both the Global North and the Global South, “despite some notable exceptions, rural areas and the people who inhabit them are frequently marginalized within a predominantly urban society,” in which “power is centered in the major cities” (Thomas, et al., 2011, pp. 2, 12). In their Global Model of MtSES, Klein et al. (2019) emphasize this too, noting the paradox that policies impacting mountain communities are typically made by policymakers in urban centers who lack contextual understanding of communities in rural and/or mountainous areas. This model also identifies five characteristics of mountain communities: complexity, cross-scale ecological systems, environmental hazards, physical isolation, and social marginalization; each characteristic has implications for education (Klein et al., 2019).

Four research questions guided this study: (1) What challenges do teachers in Georgia’s rural, mountainous regions encounter in their work and daily living? (2) How do teachers perceive the experience of working as a teacher in a rural, mountainous area to differ from the experience of working as a teacher in an urban/non-mountainous area? (3) What factors encourage teachers to enter or discourage teachers from entering the teaching profession in Georgia’s rural, mountainous regions? (4) What factors contribute to teachers’ decisions to remain in or leave their work in schools in Georgia’s rural, mountainous regions?

The methodology of the study involved semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 16 teachers and school leaders living and working in Upper Svaneti at the time of data collection (2022). A combination of inductive and deductive data analysis techniques were used, following the process outlined by Bingham and Witkowsky (2022). First, a codebook was developed based on the theoretical framework. During the initial round of coding, these codes were used for deductive coding. This was complemented by simultaneous inductive coding using in vivo codes to capture ideas important to participants not represented in the codebook. Pattern coding then helped develop themes, and, finally, theoretical coding applied the framework to explain these findings.

The findings of this study were multifaceted and revealed myriad challenges, perceived differences, and complex factors impacting teacher recruitment and retention in the high mountainous region. A significant theme that emerged involves the digital divide that persists between rural, mountainous communities and urban communities. Participants emphasized that, in comparison to their urban counterparts, teachers and students in mountainous areas have increased need for digital technologies yet face increased barriers to accessing them. For example, because Upper Svaneti is located far from Georgia’s urban centers and because schools in Upper Svaneti are generally under-resourced, teachers depend on the Internet to access teaching materials and professional development opportunities. At the same time, due to inadequate technological infrastructure and unreliable electricity, teachers frequently encounter severe connectivity issues. Similarly, school leaders reported challenges recruiting and retaining teachers in high mountainous areas, especially of more specialized subjects. To address this challenge, school leaders attempted to hire teachers living in urban centers of Georgia to teach remotely. However, due to the aforementioned infrastructural challenges, lessons were frequently interrupted, and this method of teaching and learning was deemed wildly ineffective. Participants also emphasized that these challenges were accentuated during the rapid shift to distance education that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As in schools, teachers and students encountered significant challenges related to Internet connectivity and unreliable electricity at home. Furthermore, teachers noted that many families lacked a sufficient number of devices for all children within a family to adequately engage in meaningful online learning.

The findings of this study have important implications for policy and practice. As we continue to become increasingly reliant on digital technologies, it is imperative that investments are made in the infrastructure that enables access to and usage of these technologies. Although physical realities create significant challenges to this in some geographical contexts, such as mountainous regions like Upper Svaneti, these investments are necessary to avoid further reproduction of the isolation and marginalization that are characteristic of mountain communities (Klein, et al., 2019). Additionally, to do this effectively, policymakers must invest time and resources into developing a richer understanding of the contexts their policies affect, especially those that differ in significant ways from the urban centers where the policies are created. In other words, it is important to recognize the urbanormative nature of policymaking and to consider policy implementation, including necessary adaptations, in non-urban contexts.

To conclude, this paper examines the impact of the physical world on access to and experiences of the digital world through a study exploring the experiences of teachers in the mountainous region of Upper Svaneti, Georgia. As we continue to envision education in a digital society, the geographical and spatial theories informing this study remind us of important considerations related to access, practice, and policymaking; similarly, as we increasingly turn our attention to the possibilities of the digital world, let us not forget the realities of the physical world in which we live and learn.

Author

• Melanie Baker Robbins, University of Maryland