Digital Educational Inequality in the Russian Federation: Assessment and Ways to Reduce it

A high level of access to education and educational opportunities is one of the main conditions for the effective socio-economic development of the regions and the entire country as a whole. Currently, the problem of digital educational inequality is relevant for Russia, which is manifested in unequal access to the Internet and ICT among students. The forced transition to distance learning in 2020 has led to an increase in digital inequality in education by increasing the gap between regions, urban and rural areas, and less and more affluent families. The importance of reducing digital inequality in education can be justified by the fact that digital technologies are one of the key resources for participation in educational activities: they allow not only to participate in the educational process and thus receive benefits for individuals, but also to be a driver of more global development of education and science in the country. In this master's thesis, based on the data of the Higher School of Economics and the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), the indicators of digital educational inequality in Russia and the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence it are tracked. Based on the analysis, recommendations were made to reduce the level of digital educational inequality in two directions: infrastructural and methodological.