This pathway to literacy requires an educational system that can provide the necessary resources to educate every citizen within this system—a task increasingly difficult in the 20th century. Gone are the days when those necessary resources could be housed within the confines of select physical structures such as local schools and libraries. In the current digital era these necessary resources are increasingly housed in global electronic networks available anywhere, anytime to any connected computer. This raises the issue of access, commonly referred to as the digital divide, which has direct implications for our ability to maintain equal educational opportunities for all—the key to preparing a knowledgeable citizenry.
Evidence for a direct causal relationship between student achievement and access to the body of information available through electronic means is difficult to establish due to the many confounding social variables. Social science does not lend itself well to true experimental design and discrete causal relationships. However, in this carefully designed quasi-experimental research, Dr. Macho uses an alternative approach to investigating digital divide issues relative to a select few classic factors of academic achievement. His thorough analysis of confounding variables contained within a large extant database provides a significant contribution to our further understanding of the interplay between Internet access at home and a host of variables known to contribute to academic achievement.
The significance of this research should not be underestimated. The need to ensure equal access by secondary level students to the growing body of digital educational resources is more critical than ever, and will remain so in the foreseeable future. This research is a significant addition to the body of knowledge regarding the effects of Internet access on the learning process, and provides policy makers, school administrators and classroom teachers with evidence of the importance of such access. For those concerned with the inequities of resources attributed to a digital divide that threatens the preparation of a literate citizenry, the basis of our democratic society, this research is a must read.
Professor John G. Wells
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University