Broadband Access and Classroom Teaching Practices: A Cross-National Analysis of Post-COVID Associations

Abstract Book of the 9th International Conference on Applied Research in Education

Year: 2026

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Broadband Access and Classroom Teaching Practices: A Cross-National Analysis of Post-COVID Associations

Kayode Oluwafemi

ABSTRACT:

Digital infrastructure has been associated with both professional-development access and teaching practice in prior research, but few studies test which domain shows the stronger association following a major system-wide disruption. This study examines whether pre-pandemic broadband capacity is associated with 2018-2024 change in classroom teaching practices or professional development differently across Nordic and non-Nordic systems. Using TALIS data from 40 education systems, country-level regression models with HC2-robust standard errors estimated an exploratory cross-moderator framework testing all macro-moderator-by-outcome combinations alongside the pre-specified confirmatory model. The confirmatory hypothesis that broadband access moderates change in professional development by Nordic status was not supported (p > 0.05). Exploratory analysis instead identified a robust broadband-by-Nordic association across teaching-practice outcomes: the composite scale (TPCOMP: b = -0.083, p = .004, 95% CI (-0.136, -0.029)), clarity of instruction (TPCLAIN: b = -0.157, p = 0.002, 95% CI (-0.250, -0.063)), and classroom management (TPCLASM: b = -0.229, p = 0.009, 95% CI (-0.397, -0.061)). Nordic systems with higher pre-pandemic broadband showed smaller post-pandemic practice gains, consistent with diminishing returns in high-capacity contexts. Cognitive activation showed no comparable pattern. As a cross-sectional design, temporal precedence and unmeasured confounders cannot be ruled out.

Keywords: Classroom Management; Digital Infrastructure; Instructional Practice; Nordic Education Systems; Teaching Practices