When Technology Supports Educational Services: Distance Education Use in Rural Italian Schools

摘要

This study focuses on the factors that affect the schools decision to offer educational services by an e-learning platform. We based on institutional framework to explain the choice of e-learning adoption by schools operating in rural contexts. These schools face greater difficulties to achieve education requirements and, thus, they are forced to ensure their services adopting an alternative educational model compared with traditional face-to-face learning. Based on the qualitative approach, we investigated the case of the "Digital school project" in Italy. The study highlighted that coercive and mimetic institutional isomorphism affect rural schools decision to use the distance education.