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

الملخص

Digital inequality has become a significant challenge to maintaining educational continuity during periods of disruption. As schools and universities increasingly rely on digital platforms, access to reliable internet, appropriate devices, and digital skills has become essential for participation in learning. In cities facing ongoing economic and infrastructural challenges, such as Beirut, access to these resources remains uneven. While existing research has examined digital learning and urban resilience separately, less attention has been given to how these factors interact to shape educational continuity in crisis-affected environments.

This study explores how digital inequality influences students' ability to sustain learning during disruption in Beirut. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining survey data with interviews and focus group discussions involving students, teachers, and administrators. This approach made it possible to examine patterns in digital access while also gaining a deeper understanding of participants' experiences with learning under unstable conditions.

The findings indicate that many students were able to remain engaged in online learning despite facing frequent electricity outages, unreliable internet connections, and limited access to suitable devices. However, maintaining participation did not always translate into meaningful learning outcomes, as a considerable number of students reported negative effects on their academic progress. The results also show that digital inequality extends beyond differences in income or access to technology and is closely linked to broader structural conditions, particularly infrastructure instability. Digital skills emerged as an important factor in supporting educational continuity, helping students navigate disruptions and remain engaged with their studies.

Based on these findings, the study proposes the Adaptive Educational Continuity under Infrastructure Instability framework. The framework explains how educational continuity is shaped through the interaction between digital access, digital skills, infrastructure conditions, and students' adaptive responses to disruption. It offers a perspective that moves beyond traditional access-based explanations and highlights the ways in which learning is sustained under conditions of ongoing uncertainty.

Overall, the findings suggest that educational continuity in Beirut depends not only on access to technology but also on the wider conditions that influence students' ability to learn and participate effectively. The study contributes to current discussions on digital inequality, educational resilience, and crisis-responsive education, while offering insights that may inform policy and practice in other contexts facing similar challenges.