Who Changed the Destiny of Rural Students, and How?: Unpacking ICT-Mediated Remote Education in Rural China

TL;DR

This study explores how ICT-enabled live-streaming remote classrooms impact rural education in China, highlighting the importance of local teachers and the need for improved interaction and evaluation systems.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into the role of local teachers in implementing ICT-based remote education and discusses challenges and implications for future interventions.

Findings

LSRC enables equal access to quality resources for rural students

Local teachers are crucial for overcoming practical challenges

The impact on rural education ecosystems is significant

Abstract

The proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has shown great promise in addressing educational challenges facing rural areas. However, the complex rural context poses significant challenges to the effective utilization of these technologies. This paper examines the empirical integration of live-streaming-based remote classrooms (LSRC) through a qualitative study in rural China. Our findings suggest that while LSRC enables rural students equal access to high-quality educational resources, its practical integration faces numerous challenges. In particular, we emphasize the crucial role of local teachers in addressing these challenges, ultimately achieving the desired improvement of students' learning outcomes. We also examine the impact of LSRC on the original rural education ecosystem. Building upon our findings, we call for a reconsideration of interaction paradigms and evaluation systems of ICT-mediated rural education, emphasizing the significance of rural teachers. We conclude by discussing the implications for future ICT-mediated technology interventions in rural settings.