Computer Attitudes and Competencies Among Primary and Secondary Schoolstudents

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of research from the last 15 years on attitudes and competencies regarding computer use by primary and secondary school students. For many scholars in this field, the low participation of women in computer related training courses and professions, has been the reason to focus mainly on the ‘gender gap’ in computing and on gender differences in computer attitudes especially. However, despite the numerous studies on this subject, consensus about explanations for these gender differences in computer attitudes is still lacking. Three main theories will be discussed: socialisation, gender specific behaviour and the influence of teaching. Compared to computer attitude studies, the availability of studies and theories on students’ computer competencies is much more limited. Students’ own assessment of their abilities in general computer use has received more attention in this field of research, although this subject is also often addressed from a gender perspective.