Computer Literacy of Adolescents in Grades 9 to 12: an Exploratory Study

• Activity Number: 481
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 9, 2006 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Matthew Sink*+ and Christopher A. Sink
• Companies: Shoreline Christian High School and Seattle Pacific University
• Keywords: computer ; literacy ; survey research ; high school ; students

Abstract

We report on a study examining whether there were gender differences in computer literacy among high school (HS) students. The US Dept. of Education studied the rates of computer use in children through the 12th grade reporting that 91% of each gender used the computer on a regular basis. It did not look at computer literacy. Our aim was to determine if there was a difference in computer literacy between HS girls and boys. We created a computer literacy survey measuring 6 categories of skills (i.e., word processing skills, Internet skills, instant messaging, downloading music, gaming, and computer programming). Eighty four HS students (43 F, 41 M) participated. Gender usage frequency did not differ. Boys had on average higher scores across each of the 6 literacy categories with the largest gap in programming. Findings suggest that girls do not possess the same literacy skills as boys.