Surfing the net : a european survey into children’s use of internet

The present survey is one of the results of the EDM Reporter Comenius 3 Network activities. It was organised in 2006/2007 by partners from the 14 countries in the Network: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. Four questionnaires were developed: one for adults (teachers, librarians, teacher trainers, students) working with children, and three for three age groups of children (8-10, 10-12, 12-14). The survey included schools in large cities, small towns and even smaller villages. About 3500 children and 700 adults working with children were interviewed. Empirical research in schools, libraries, teacher training institutions and universities was carried out for the following reasons: ➤ to discover whether and how teachers, librarians and children use the internet for intercultural education and reading promotion ➤ to determine criteria for evaluating websites for children and adults working with children ➤ to establish lists of the most user-friendly and most frequently visited websites for children/adults working with children. ➤ to gather additional general information about the use of internet in each country