Computer literacy and matters of equity

Abstract

This paper discusses a policy directed study undertaken for the New South Wales (Australia) Ministry of Education and Youth Affairs. The project investigated and sought to redefine the emerging term ‘computer literacy’ and its significance for the learning of girls. Six fundamental questions were addressed, these being: (1) What is computer literacy? Can the definition vary according to expectations and attitudes which teachers have about the achievement of girls and boys? (2) Are school experiences of computers different for girls and boys, either across the curriculum or within given curriculum areas? (3) Are the consequent learning outcomes different for girls and boys? (4) Are the learning outcomes always those that are intended? (5) What are the perceptions held by students regarding their computer experiences and are these consonant with those held by the teaching staff?, and (6) Are attitudes to computers and learning outcomes affected by socio-cultural factors which lie outside school? The report was an interpretative one based upon responses to a detailed questionnaire sent state-wide to 120 co-educational secondary schools, and data yielded by six intensive case studies. The emerging picture is one of a complex interplay between influences from the wider community and unplanned historical links between present computer use in schools and long-standing teaching practices and curriculum organisation in schools. There is ample evidence to suggest that ‘computer literacy’, as it is evolving in New South Wales (NSW) secondary schools, is a term which varies significantly in its impact upon learning for girls and for boys. Significant policy intervention was recommended to guard against differences becoming entrenched in practice to the educational disadvantage of girls. © 1992 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.