Projects / Programmes
New Domains of Inequality: The Digital Divide in Slovenia
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.01.00 |
Social sciences |
Educational studies |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.03 |
Social Sciences |
Educational sciences |
ICILS, ePIRLS, digital divide, reading literacy on computers, computer and information literacy
Researchers (9)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The project will investigate the “digital divide”, comparing the gaps in Computer and Information Literacy (CIL) in Slovenia in the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), conducted in 2013 and the computer-based assessment in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (ePIRLS), conducted in 2016. ICILS 2013 is a largescale study, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 21 countries (educational systems) around the world, 12 of them being European. The study collects data from students, teachers and school principals of schools where students study. The data contains CIL scores along with rich data on the context of learning, student, teacher and school principal personal characteristics, use and attitudes towards using ICT for both educational purposes and in everyday life for solving problems and organize their work. ePIRLS is an IEA computer-based assessment component, part of the main PIRLS study, conducted in 16 educational systems around the world, including Slovenia, where students read and use information in a simulated Internet environment. All collected data and documentation from ICILS 2013 and ePIRLS 2016 is provided for free by IEA and can be used for secondary/in-depth analyses. The main objective of this project is to explore the digital divide (CIL gaps) across 14-year-old students and 10-years old students based on their gender, location of the school they attend (rural/urban), and their socio-economic status (SES) using Slovenian data from ICILS 2013 and ePIRLS 2016. The project will also explore how different ICT-related factors explain the aforementioned gaps across the participating countries and indicate how different ICT-related factors explain the aforementioned gaps across these entities. International comparisons will thus help identify successful national and school-based policies, which could support development of Slovenian education policies in the field. The most important among the results, however, are the factors explaining these gaps in Slovenia and the differences in their effect compared to the other participating European countries. We expect to find differences in the effects of these factors between Slovenia and the other countries participating in those two studies (ICILS and ePIRLS) or groups of countries. We expect this not only for the more complex gaps like the SES one, but even for the most basic, based on personal and demographic characteristic – student gender – due to the different motivation of male and female students in using computers. The project will also employ analysis of the computer log information to reveal patterns of student responses between higher and lower achievers in PIRLS and ICILS. The purpose of this project is to identify successful national and school-based policies and practices, which could support further developments of Slovenian education policies and practices in reading (with focus on e-reading) and CIL. This motivation to use school students as subjects is due to the fact that the students currently in school will be the force driving the development of tomorrow. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills are especially important for the future of individuals, and attention on student abilities in using ICT resources for their personal empowerment is needed. Youth digital skills are especially important because today’s youth will compete for technological jobs globally. The project will last for three years and will be divided into four phases: Phase 1: Theoretical background of the digital divide on different individual, social and demographic characteristics of the target population (1st till 9th month); Phase 2: Secondary analysis of the data (10th till 21st month); Phase 3: Preparing the final report of the results and dissemination (22nd till 30th month); and Phase 4: Final dissemination and exploitation (31st till 36th month).
