Abstract
The development of computer skills, as well as computer self-efficacy, has increased in importance along with the role of technology in everyday life. Childhood is a critical time for the development of these skills since early inequalities may substantially impact future life outcomes. In a context of a computing intervention designed to improve digital inclusion, we hypothesize that students’ enactive learning experience (conceptualized as their computer usage) and their vicarious learning experience (conceptualized as their perception of their teacher’s computer usage) are associated with the development of perceived technology efficacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Education, and Math) attitudes. Data are from a sample of elementary school students from an urban school district in the Southeastern United States. The results show that both their direct experiences and their perception of their teacher’s computer usage have strong impacts on students’ technology efficacy and STEM attitudes, and the former is the stronger predictor of the outcomes examined. The findings suggest that programs aiming to improve digital inclusion should emphasize students’ direct learning experience, which would later improve their attitude toward STEM fields.
Highlights
The demands placed upon “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001) will continue to evolve as our society shifts from an advanced industrial-based economy towards an information-based economy
The results show that students who had more enactive experiences related to their direct usage of computers had higher technology-related selfefficacy and STEM attitudes compared to students that had fewer enactive experiences
Our research found that students’ enactive experience, which refers to their computer usage, was an important factor for increasing children’s technology efficacy and STEM attitudes in the context of a computing intervention
Summary
The demands placed upon “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001) will continue to evolve as our society shifts from an advanced industrial-based economy towards an information-based economy. Social Inclusion, 2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages 213–221 some children are not receiving these increasingly important digital skills and abilities even when they have access to computers and the Internet. Digital inclusion is necessary because unequal access to information impacts children’s ability to succeed in school and, in turn, their access to quality higher education which subsequently determines the returns on their financial investment of education (DiMaggio et al, 2004). We must seek new means and methods to increase disadvantaged children’s digital inclusion because a lack of ICT skills and experiences can have far-reaching consequences for children’s lives and potentially for society as a whole (DiMaggio et al, 2004; Ritzhaupt & Hohlfeld, 2018)
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