Digital Learning, Educational Equity, and Sustainable Development in Rural Higher Education: A Qualitative Study of Learning Management System Use in South Africa

Abstract

The research investigates how Learning Management System implementations affect educational equality and environmental sustainability at a South African rural university. The research investigates two main objectives: identifying all significant challenges undergraduate students face and evaluating the effectiveness of digital learning technologies in creating inclusive educational environments. The researchers used a postpositivist qualitative approach to collect data through semi-structured interviews with 15 undergraduate students who represented different faculties and academic levels. The researchers used thematic analysis to understand student experiences. The research results show two distinct ways in which the system helps and creates obstacles for users. The Learning Management System enabled students to access learning resources, which allowed them to learn at their own pace while maintaining their educational progress. The system provided advantages, despite digital infrastructure limitations, digital literacy gaps, and socioeconomic division among users. Students explained to the researchers that digital platforms increase existing inequalities because institutions fail to provide students with essential support. The additional research results demonstrate that implementing solutions aligned with cultural practices and maintaining data privacy protects student participation in educational activities. The study demonstrates that higher education institutions can achieve sustainable development through digital learning systems, which they should implement together with social inclusion initiatives and institutional development programmes. Digital learning technologies will create structural barriers to access because educational institutions lack proper equity-focused policies and dedicated funding programmes. The research presents student perspectives from a marginalised higher education background to examine how digital learning affects educational equity in the context of sustainable development.