Examining Digital Technology Constrains on Higher Education in Developing Countries Through the Lens of the Capability Approach

This paper uses the capability approach to examine constraints that potentially hinder students to tap into the full potential of digital technologies in the context of higher education in a developing country. We start with an overview of Sen’s capability approach and related conversion factors, and discuss how digital technologies influence students’ capability development. Then, we provide results gained from analyzing qualitative data collected among developing country students. The eight key constraints that emerged from the analysis (dependence on technology, procrastination, teacher’s habit, lack of institutional policies, limited internet access, lack of university infrastructure, inaccurate information, and mass of information) are described and further classified. This research provides a renewed digital technology constraint notion and exemplary evidence highlighting the connotation of these constraints for students pursuing higher education in the context of a developing country.