As part of the Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027, the European Commission has highlighted the need to utilise the potential of digital technologies for learning and teaching and to develop people’s digital skills (European Commission, 2020b). However, it has been shown that certain groups, such as rural citizens, are more at risk of digital exclusion than others. Due to the fact that computer and internet access and the ability to use them competently can have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life and increase their participation in society, the digital divide poses a problem for the individual as well as society (European Commission, 2020a; OECD, 2020). In 2010, the European Commission considered e.g. broadband internet access in rural areas in the European Union as one of the most important action areas in the implementation of the ICT popularisation policy and the creation of the European Information Society (European Commission, 2010). According to this, the European Commission pointed out the need to respond to digital transformation risks, especially with regard to a digital divide between urban and rural areas (European Commission, 2020b). In this context, educational institutions face the challenge of bridging the gap between regions and providing equal opportunities for all students, regardless of where they live, with regard to the digital transformation (OECD, 2020).
In order to describe from a theoretical perspective at which points educational inequalities can occur between different groups (e.g. rural/urban) in the course of digitalisation, the multidimensional construct of the digital divide (van Deursen & van Dijk, 2018; van Dijk, 2012) can be used. This approach distinguishes four dimensions: (1) access to and (2) use of ICT, (3) motivation (motives) for use, and (4) digital skills. This four-dimensional model of the digital divide can be understood as a sequential stage model of ICT acquisition. Consequently, social inequalities can occur in each of these dimensions and affect social participation in the digital world (van Dijk, 2020, 2005).
While there are numerous studies, like the international large-scale monitoring study ICILS 2018 (International Computer and Information Literacy Study) of the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), which examined the computer and information literacy (CIL) of eighth graders in an international comparison, taking different background characteristics (e.g. age, gender, social background) into account (Eickelmann et al., 2019 [National Report ICILS 2018 Germany]; Fraillon et al., 2019a), there are far fewer studies considering the demographic aspect (rural/urban). For example, Wang (2013) examined the availability of digital devices in primary schools in Taiwan and discovered that the technology availability in urban schools was significantly better than in rural schools. Furthermore, student frequency of using Interactive Whiteboards in learning in urban schools was significantly better than in rural schools (Wang, 2013). On the other hand, a study on the frequency of internet use between urban and rural areas in the UK found no significant difference (Eynon, 2009). However, a difference was found with regard to certain online activities: Internet users from urban areas are more likely to use the Internet for training or formal learning than users from rural areas.
Currently, there has been no research that focuses on all four dimensions of the digital divide (access to ICT, use of ICT, motivation for use ICT and digital skills) in relation to the demographic situation (rural/urban) in Europe. Following this approach, this contribution addresses the following research question: Are there any differences between students from urban and rural areas concerning the four dimensions of the digital divide ([1] access to ICT, [2] use of ICT, [3] motivation (motives) for use ICT, and [4] digital skills) in Europe?