Open, distance, and digital education (ODDE) has long been associated with the promise of widening participation and enhancing educational inclusion. However, growing evidence suggests that digitalisation does not automatically lead to more equitable education, but rather reconfigures existing inequalities. This paper develops a systems-based framework for understanding digital educational equity in ODDE, moving beyond access-oriented conceptions of the digital divide. Drawing on systems theory and approaches to social inequality, particularly the work of Niklas Luhmann and Göran Therborn, the paper conceptualises digital educational equity as an emergent property of participation in educational communication. The framework integrates macro-level structural conditions, meso-level institutional practices, and micro-level learner capabilities, highlighting how inequalities are produced and reproduced through their interplay. It further situates digital educational equity within broader debates on social sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), arguing that equity in ODDE depends not only on access to digital technologies but on the conditions that enable meaningful and sustained participation over time. Particular attention is given to the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a cross-cutting force that can both amplify and transform inequalities across levels. By shifting the focus from access to participation, and from isolated factors to systemic interactions, the paper develops a systems-based relational and multi-level framework for analysing digital educational equity in ODDE. It concludes by outlining implications for future theoretical development and empirical research, emphasising the need for integrated, multi-level approaches to understanding and addressing inequality in increasingly digital and AI-mediated educational systems.
Olaf Zawacki‐Richter (Thu,) studied this question.