Educational Research

“Research is a combination of both experience and reasoning and must be regarded as the most successful approach to the discovery of truth” (Borg, 1963, as cited in Cohan, Manion, & Morrison, 2000).
                                            What is educational research? 

Educational research can be defined as a ‘purposeful and systematic’ inquiry ‘to solve a problem, illuminate a situation or add to our knowledge’ (Mutch, 2005, pp. 14) ‘by the discovery of non-trivial facts and insights’ (Howard & Sharp, 1983, as cited in Bell, 2005, pp. 2) ‘in relation to the improvement of education policy and practices, with a commitment to broader dissemination of research findings beyond publication in high status, international, refereed journals’ (Lingard & Gale, 2010, pp. 31).

Educational research refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data related to the field of education. Research may involve a variety of methods. Research may involve various aspects of education including student learning, teaching methods, teacher training, and classroom dynamics.

Educational researchers generally agree that research should be rigorous and systematic. However, there is less agreement about specific standards, criteria, and research procedures. Educational researchers may draw upon a variety of disciplines. These disciplines include psychology. sociology, anthropology, and philosophy.

Purpose of Educational Research

Educational research has enormous purposes. Some important purposes are presented as following.

• To identify truth regarding Enrolment, retention, dropout, quality of Education and so forth 
• To build new knowledge regarding the methodology, pedagogy or other core subject areas
• Adding the existing stock of knowledge related to the educational field
• To solve a problem related to classroom, institution, administrative level, policy level
• The invention of new teaching methods, curriculum transaction strategies, effective grouping technique and so forth 
• Realizing the exact problem of the educational sector
• Assess the Effect of New methodology of teaching

There are several topics that educational researchers might investigate such as one of the most important topic according to me is inclusive education. in inclusive education, researchers can investigate a framework for academic and social engagement of students in inclusive settings in the Maldives.

Only having a good curriculum is not enough so another educational topic that might investigate is the challenges of implementing a national curriculum framework in the government school system of Maldives. I believe investigating this topic is very important for our future generations.

Digital Novice

Digital novices tend to have minimal digital contact with end-users but understand the mandate to change.

Characteristics include legacy systems unable to support valuable online engagements, teams, with limited skills and experience working on digital initiatives and frequently an unwillingness to find outside expertise to help build a business case and convince companies to move faster.

Ultimately, digital novices are still deciding where digital transformation fits into their organizations.

Digital Divide

                                        Digital Divide

The term ‘digital divide’ describes the fact that the world can be divided into people who do and people who don’t have access to and the capability to use modern information technology, such as the telephone, television, or the Internet.

According to Salinas(2003:131), digital divide refers to that disparity between individuals and/or communities who can use electronic information and communication tools, such as the internet, to better the quality of their lives and those who cannot

Effects of the Digital Divide:

1. Economic inequality: The digital divide creates economic inequality because those who have access to modern technology can easily collect valuable economical information.
2. Effect on education: It has an impact on education. Because a student who has internet access and a computer can acquire more valuable knowledge from the internet.
3. Democracy: The use of the Internet can lead to a healthier democracy, increased public participation in elections and decision-making processes.
4. Economic growth is affected by the digital divide because productivity improvements tend to be associated with the use of Information technologies and companies with these technologies may have an advantage and can compete better.
5. Social mobility: computers and computer networks are playing an increasingly important role in people’s learning, professional work, and career development.

Digital immigrants

A digital immigrant is an individual who was born before the widespread adoption of digital technology. The term digital immigrant may also apply to individuals who were born after the spread of digital technology and who were not exposed to it at an early age. Digital immigrants are the opposite of digital natives, who have been interacting with technology from childhood.

Digital Immigrants

• Prefer to talk on the phone or in person
• Value ‘proper’ English when texting
• Prefer formal communication channels, such as phone, detailed emails, or face-to-face communication.
• Do not understand the slang words or phrases on the internet, such as “idk”, “brb”, “t2yl”.
• Printing things out as opposed to working on screen.

In fact, digital immigrants are not born with computer skills. From the term “native”, it is clear that digital natives are more tech-savvy than digital immigrants. Children nowadays learn and adapt to the technology differently compared to adults.

Digital Native

A digital native is an individual who was born after the widespread adoption of digital technology. The term digital native doesn't refer to a particular generation. Instead, it is a catch-all category for children who have grown up using technology like the Internet, computers and mobile devices. This exposure to technology in the early years is believed to give digital natives a greater familiarity with and understanding of technology than people who were born before it was widespread.

Alternatively, this term can describe people born in the later 1980s or later, as the digital age began at that time; but in most cases, the term focuses on people who grew up with 21st-century modern technology.
For a couple of years, the idea of the digital native's theory was very popular and helped to put the impact of digital on the radar of many people and politics.


Not all children born today are digital natives by default. Interacting regularly with technology at a young age is the deciding factor. That said, children today are more likely to be familiar with the terminology of the digital world. This isn’t to say they will intuitively understand computer programming or how a network transmits data. They will, however, be better placed to understand these technologies as they will have seen them in action many times.

Information society

Information Society is a term for a society in which the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information have become the most significant economic and cultural activity. An Information Society may be contrasted with societies in which the economic underpinning is primarily Industrial or Agrarian. The machine tools of the Information Society are computers and telecommunications, rather than lathes or ploughs.


Policymakers for the G7 (now G8) group of nations recognized, only a few years ago, that:
Progress in information technologies and communication is changing the way we live: how we work and do business, how we educate our children, study and do research, train ourselves, and how we are entertained. The information society is not only affecting the way people interact but it is also requiring the traditional organizational structures to be more flexible, more participatory and more decentralized

Digital Age

The digital age has brought about many changes in the way we conduct business, education, entertainment, and mental health.

The digital age, also called the information age, is defined as the time period starting in the 1970s with the introduction of the personal computer with subsequent technology introduced providing the ability to transfer information freely and quickly.