Rethinking Educational Continuity: Digital Inequality and the Shift from System Resilience to Individual Adaptation in Beirut

الملخص

Digital inequality has become an increasingly important challenge for educational continuity in cities experiencing prolonged economic and infrastructural instability. In Beirut, where electricity outages and internet disruptions have become part of everyday life, students' ability to participate in online and hybrid learning depends not only on access to technology but also on their capacity to adapt to unstable learning conditions. Although previous studies have examined digital inequality and educational resilience, limited attention has been given to how these factors interact in crisis-affected urban environments where instability is ongoing rather than temporary. This study investigates how internet reliability, device suitability, and digital skills influence educational continuity among students in Greater Beirut. Guided by a mixed-methods case study design, the research combined survey data from 197 secondary school and university students with interviews and focus group discussions involving students, teachers, and administrators. Quantitative data were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression analyses, while qualitative data were examined thematically to explore participants' experiences of learning under unstable conditions. The findings show that educational continuity remains possible despite persistent infrastructural challenges, but often at a significant cost to learning quality. Internet reliability (β = .18, p = .041), device suitability (β = .24, p = .008), and digital skills (β = .31, p = .001) all significantly predicted educational continuity, with digital skills emerging as the strongest predictor. The regression model explained 34% of the variance in educational continuity (R² = .34, F(5,144) = 14.82, p < .001) and produced a large practical effect size (Cohen's f² = .52). Qualitative findings revealed that students frequently adjusted study schedules, shared connectivity resources, relied on mobile data, and downloaded learning materials in advance to cope with recurring disruptions. However, participants consistently distinguished between maintaining participation and achieving meaningful learning, suggesting that continuity and learning quality do not necessarily develop together under unstable conditions. Drawing on these findings, the study proposes the Adaptive Educational Continuity under Infrastructure Instability framework. The framework explains educational continuity as the product of interactions among infrastructure conditions, digital access, digital skills, and student adaptation. By shifting attention from system reliability to adaptive capacity, the study extends current discussions of digital inequality, educational resilience, and crisis-responsive education, while offering insights for policymakers and educational institutions operating in similarly unstable environments.