Navigating the tension between scale and school context in digital college guidance
| Published date | 13 August 2018 |
| Date | 13 August 2018 |
| Pages | 303-310 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-03-2018-0019 |
| Author | Zoe Corwin,Tattiya J. Maruco |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information & communications technology |
Navigating the tension between
scale and school context in digital
college guidance
Zoe Corwin and Tattiya J. Maruco
Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potentialof digital tools to address the significant
challenge of increasingaccess to college and outline challenges and opportunitiesin effectively implementing
a digital interventionacross an entire school.
Design/methodology/approach –The study encompasses a randomizedcontrol trial and comparative
case studies.This paper highlights qualitative data focused on implementation.
Findings –Findings illustrate impediments and strategies for implementing a school-wide digital
intervention.
Research limitations/implications –Research focused on one particular intervention and is thus
limited in scope.
Practical implications –The study has the potential to assist practitioners in better serving students
from low-incomeand minoritized communities through digital tools.
Social implications –The study has implications for increasing the number of first-generation and
minoritized youth who apply to and enroll in college. The study highlights digital equity issues often
overlookedin ed-tech sectors.
Originality/value –Few studies exist that examine the implementation of digital interventions at the
school level.Focusing on digital equity in the collegeaccess space (academic and practice) is novel.
Keywords Technology, Digital equity, College access
Paper type Research paper
Because of the prevalence of technology in almost all aspects of teenagers’lives,
organizations interested in increasing access to college have increasingly turned to online
tools to educate and support students in applying to and navigatingcollege (Castleman and
Page, 2016;Corwin et al., 2014;Venegas, 2006). High schools across the country have
invested millions of dollars in online college data systems and digital resources –and
colleges and universitieshave expanded their use of websites and social media campaigns to
recruit and retain students.Yet little emphasis is placed on what works and for whom.
This article highlights the potential of digitaltools in addressing the significant problem
of increasing access to college and outlines challenges and opportunities in effectively
implementing a digital interventionacross an entire school. Data were derived from a large-
scale federally fundedstudy that includes a randomized control trial (RCT) and comparative
case studies. Beyond evaluating the impact of the digital intervention on college-going
outcomes, researchers documented the process of bringing a digital intervention to scale,
including understanding the role of school context in implementation. Findings have
implications for better understanding how digital equity issues interface with the field of
college access.
Digital college
guidance
303
Received4 March 2018
Accepted7 May 2018
Journalof Information,
Communicationand Ethics in
Society
Vol.16 No. 3, 2018
pp. 303-310
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/JICES-03-2018-0019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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