Amplifying Student Voice in a Divided Digital Landscape

The rapid adoption of digital technologies in higher education has created new opportunities for student engagement, yet inequities persist in East Africa, limiting whose voices are amplified online. In Kenya, infrastructural barriers such as unreliable connectivity, high data costs, and unequal device access intersect with socio-cultural challenges including gender disparities, online harassment, and the marginalization of students with disabilities. This produces a divided digital landscape where empowerment and exclusion coexist. Existing research often isolates access or literacy but rarely situates student voice within equity and agency. This chapter explores how a framework for digital equity can amplify student voice in Kenyan higher education. Using a qualitative, exploratory, multi-case design, data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and institutional analysis, then thematically examined. The proposed framework centers on access, participation, and agency, ensuring digital transformation amplifies rather than silences diverse voices.