Computer literacy in secondary education: The performance and engagement of girls

This research study examines performance and engagement in computer literacy of boys and girls (N = 873). Performance and engagement in computer literacy are established with CAST. Computer Alfabetisme Schalen Twente, a Dutch version of the Minnesota Computer Literacy Awareness Assessment. The results of the study show that girls perform lower and are less engaged in computer literacy than boys. Research on sex differences in mathematics and science education shows that three factors are important for the design of action programs for girls, viz. the expectation and behaviour of significant others, the perception of the usefulness of the subject for a future career and a positive attitude towards the subject. This study shows that these factors seem to be relevant for computer literacy too. It has been found that a positive attitude towards mathematics and physics is positively related to a positive attitude towards computer literacy. An examination of the relation between performance in computer literacy and attitude towards mathematics and physics shows no differences in performance between boys and girls with a negative attitude towards mathematics and physics. For boys and girls with a positive attitude towards mathematics and physics however a difference in performance in computer literacy has been found in favour of boy

Information literacy in secondary education in the Netherlands: The new curriculum

The Dutch government decided to introduce in 1991 some form of comprehensive lower secondary education for grades 7–9. The Minister of Education and Sciences appointed committees for all fourteen subject areas to prepare attainment targets for these domains. The Committee for Information Literacy and Computer Literacy (ICL) was given the task not only to prepare objectives for a 20-h course on ICL, but also to advise the committees for the other subject areas on how to incorporate information technology into their recommendations. The ICL Committee concluded that a course of 20 h was too little for the subject area of information literacy and computer literacy, and decided to generate objectives for the whole domain of ICL, and to prepare proposals for the strategies by which information literacy and computer literacy can be integrated into the new lower secondary school curriculum

Towards a strategy for the introduction of information and computer literacy (ICL) courses

An important goal of the national policy on computers in education in the Netherlands is the familiarization of all citizens with information technology. This policy was a plea for some basic education in information and computer literacy. In the beginning of the implementation of this basic education for all a national survey (about grassroots developments) in Dutch junior secondary education was executed (Spring, 1984) with the following objectives: (i) to collect information which can serve as a baseline for the evaluation of future developments and (ii) to perform a context analysis to provide policy makers, innovation planners and curriculum developers with information about the state-of-the-art on information and computer literacy in the schools. The survey instruments were partly developed with as underlying structure some of the factors which are influencing the implementation of educational changes. The instruments were submitted to a sample of 462 schools representing the different types of junior secondary schools. Variation between the schools was obtained by distinguishing different levels of involvements of schools in information and computer literacy. This paper analyses how far in the schools, which are experimenting with information and computer literacy on their own initiative, some of the implementation factors of Fullan are fulfilled. Based upon this analysis a recommendation for a policy strategy for introducing this new domain in the schools is formulated

Tahap literasi komputer pelajar sekolah menengah di Kedah

Computer literacy has become the main agenda in today’s life. It has become one of the main sources for a country’s development. The main objective of the research is to measure the level of computer literacy among upper secondary school students in the state of Kedah. Moreover the research is to identify the relationship between parent’s level of education and income with student’s computer literacy. Furthermore the study also explores the relationship between student’s attitude and computer skill with computer literacy. Data was collected through the questionnaires distributed to 698 students from form four, form five and Lower Six in twelve secondary schools of seven provinces in Kedah state. Tools for measurement used in this study are Attitude Toward Computer Scale (ATCS), Computer Self – Efficiency Scale (CSES) and Minnesota Computer Literacy and Awareness Assessment Test (MCLAAT). To measure the objective and to examine the hypotheses of the study, tests such as mean, percentage, Chi Square and Cramer V are used. Significance level of 0.05 is used to accept or to reject the null hypothesis. Data is analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12.0. The study finds that the student’s computer literacy level is moderately high with mean score of 66.67%. The overall findings conclude that there is a significance relationship between parent’s level of education and income with student’s computer literacy. However there is no significance relationship between student’s attitude and computer skill with computer literacy. The study suggests that schools should offer more computer related activities as to increase student’s computer literacy level

Lessons Learned from Piloting a Computer Literacy Test for Placement and Remedial Decisions

Computer literacy, like mathematical literacy or reading literacy, has become part of a student\u27s basic education. Many students are routinely exposed to computers in grades K through 12. If sufficient numbers of incoming freshmen have already mastered basic computer skills and concepts then the question facing our university is whether computer literacy should continue to be taught at the college level or if this course should be treated as a remedial college preparatory course? To answer this question, a computer literacy test was devised to ascertain the computer literacy level of incoming freshmen. The results of the test will help determine which students should be placed out of our computer literacy course. In addition by understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the students that remain in the course, instructional adjustments can be made to address the current computer literacy needs of the student body

Determining The Computer Literacy Levels Of Vocational Teachers In Southern Nevada And Developing A Computer In-Service Program For Vocational Teachers

The purposes of this study were to ( 1) conduct a study to determine the computer skills level of the vocational teachers in Southern Nevada; (2) design a computer literacy in-service program targeting the specific instructional needs of the deficient vocational teachers; (3) develop a plan for evaluating the in-service training program; and (4) develop an implementation plan for continued computer literacy in-service training and an undergraduate computer literacy training program fer vocational teachers in university teacher training programs. The literature review addressed the first research question by providing the specific competencies for determining the characteristics of computer literacy and identifying the specific questions for the survey instrument. The competencies necessary for computer literacy are (1) hardware literacy; (2) word processing: and (3} advanced program operation, spreadsheet. database, gradebook program, or computer-assisted design (CAD} or the ability to write a simple computer program. The results of the study indicated that fifty percent of the vocational/technical teachers in Southern Nevada are not computer literate. A few content areas, specifically electronics and drafting, had exceptionally high rates of computer literacy with 100 percent for electronics and seventy-three percent for drafting. Some content areas, welding at fourteen percent and graphic arts at thirty percent had exceptionally low levels of computer literacy. The survey data Indicated no significant statistical differences in computer literacy levels between secondary and postsecondary teachers, and no statistical difference based on industry or formal university training. The demographic factor of age was determined by study data to not be a significant impactor on computer literacy. The data on differences based on gender were inconclusive as less than ten percent of teachers surveyed were women. Sixty-two percent of the computer literate vocational teachers surveyed indicated that they were self-taught, and seventy-one percent indicated that they learned their computer skills after beginning to teach. This provided substantial evidence that industry and formal educational institutions have provided very little computer training for vocational teachers. The conclusions reached by the study were that the need for computer literacy training in Southern Nevada does exist. With an accurate estimate of the potential student enrollment identified by the study, the Clark County Community College can commit resources for a program. It is recommended that the college implement the Teacher Computer Literacy Workshop model beginning the first semester of school year 1990-1991 and the University of Nevada system implement this or a similar computer literacy component in their teacher training programs. The final product of this study was the development of a computer literacy training program specifically designed to address the needs of the Southern Nevada vocational teachers. The Teacher Computer Literacy Workshop program design, goals, competencies. instructional media, unit and program evaluation, and revision procedures were elements addressed in the design process

The Effect of Computer Literacy on University of Maiduguri Students’ Attitude towards Computerized Record System

Computerized record systems have been viewed as being desirable and have undeniable advantages over the manual system of record keeping.  However, oftentimes these may not be appreciated by students, especially in environments where overall penetration of ICTs is low and as such computer literacy is also low.  This paper aims to investigate how computer literacy affects University of Maiduguri students’ perception of a computerized record system.  It studied the views of sampled students of the university in order to ascertain how their level of computer literacy affects their desire for their record system to be computerized.  Research questions were analyzed with a view to determining the association that exists between level of computer literacy of students and their desire for a computerized record system, and the desirability of such a system among computer literate and non computer literate students.  Simple percentage analysis and Chi Square test were used to investigate the level of desirability of computerization, and the association between computer literacy and desire for computerized record system, respectively.  It was found that among both computer literate and non computer literate students, the computerized record system was highly desired.  It was also found that there is no association between level of computer literacy and desire for computerization among students sampled.  This implies that even in areas where there is low ICT penetration and computer literacy, computerization can still be highly desired by university students. Keywords: computer literacy, computerized record system, computer anxiety, technophobi

Influence of Self-Concept on Undergraduates’ Computer Literacy Skills in Selected Federal Universities in Southwestern Nigeria

Computer literacy skills are indispensable to all undergraduates irrespective of their disciplines. Computer technologies influence all facets of human life ranging from education, leisure, and work related activities. Studies have found that the computer literacy skills of the Nigerian undergraduates is inadequate. The study investigated the influence of self-concept on computer literacy skills of undergraduates in federal universities in southwestern Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted for the selection of 300L undergraduates, faculties and departments for the study. Twenty-seven (27) departments were involved in the study. A mixed method was employed for the study which involved quantitative and qualitative methods. Questionnaire and focus group discussions were the instruments used to elicit information from 1,318 respondents. Out of the 1,318 copies of questionnaire administered, 1,169 were duly completed and analysed giving a response rate of 88.7%. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 21. Focus group discussions were analysed based on the major themes identified in the study. The study found that the level of computer literacy skills of the respondents was relatively high. Focus group discussions substantiated the findings of the quantitative aspect of the study by affirming that the level of computer literacy skills was relatively high. The study showed a significant relationship between undergraduates’ self-concept and computer literacy skills. It was concluded that a positive self-concept influences acquisition of computer literacy skills by undergraduates. The study recommended that universities should not relent efforts in sustaining the high level of undergraduates’ computer literacy skills and self-concept respectively