In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the long-standing policy of separate but equal education facilities is inherently unequal and unconstitutional. Sixty-four years later, students across the world are facing another dangerous inequity with devastating implications for their future success: the digital divide.
The digital divide has exacerbated the “homework gap,” the term coined to explain the chasm between affluent students and their underserved peers. Geography and socioeconomic status are major contributing factors to this divide.
A student in the Australian Capital Territory, where 94% of households have internet access, will have more resources than a student in Tasmania, where less than 82% of households have a direct internet connection. Additional studies have shown that the homework gap disproportionately affects minority and low-income students, essentially reestablishing the same educational barriers that the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education sought to eliminate in the U.S.
The domino effect of the homework gap has implications beyond a student’s education. In the modern global age, access to the internet is a prerequisite for success. Homework assignments and college and job applications are frequently, if not exclusively, submitted electronically. For now, many students rely on free WiFi at local establishments, and while it is economically beneficial for businesses to offer complimentary WiFi, this is not a viable long-term solution to the homework gap and deepening digital divide.
Ultimately, it is the social and political responsibility of each nation’s government to enact initiatives to overcome this modern-day civil rights issue for our world’s public education systems.
