Abstract:

Who gets left behind when classrooms go digital? In South Africa, the promise of inclusive education collides with the harsh reality of socioeconomic inequality, where a caregiver’s income, education, and occupation often significantly influence a learner’s digital future. This study explored how caregivers’ socioeconomic status (SES) shapes learners’ access to digital resources, the development of digital literacy, and their participation in inclusive practices in South African public high schools. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, the research examined the layered ways in which household circumstances and structural conditions intersect to either enable or restrict digital access and literacy for learners. The study utilised a qualitative desktop research design rooted in content analysis. Three key themes emerged from the investigation of government policy frameworks, peer-reviewed articles, and organisational reports. These themes include access to digital resources, the development of digital literacy and engagement, and the implications for inclusive education. The themes were further unpacked into sub-themes of income, parental education, occupational background, mediation practices, and policy context. The findings revealed that higher SES households provided richer digital environments and active mediation, while lower SES households faced limited access and restrictive strategies. Policies, meanwhile, often assumed equal digital access and overlooked systemic inequality. The study concluded that SES significantly shapes digital inclusion across multiple ecological levels. Unless policy and practice confront these disparities directly, the goal of inclusive education will remain unevenly realised, leaving the most vulnerable learners at the margins of the digital age.

Keywords:

Digital literacy, Caregiver socioeconomic status, Inclusive education, Public High Schools, Educational technology, Ecological Systems Theory.