ICT Motivation in Sixth-Grade Students in Pandemic Times—The Influence of Gender and Age

Pablo Dúo-Terrón,Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero,José-Antonio Marín-Marín

doi:10.3390/educsci12030183

Pablo Dúo-Terrón, Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12030183

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Journal: Education Sciences	Publication Date: Mar 6, 2022
Citations: 10	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Granada

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) is being immersed in people’s daily lives at an increasingly younger age. It has been key for adolescents to pursue distance education, and their use and mastery of technological means and tools with Internet access has increased. In this study, the motivation, specifically in the interest, digital competence, autonomy, and social interaction, generated by ICTs in the daily lives of adolescents during the pandemic caused by COVID-19 was analyzed. In the study, the objective was to study the motivation, use and commitment generated by ICTs in these students in relation to their gender and age after their confinement to the classroom caused by the first wave of incoming students. An experimental method of descriptive and correlative design was used along with a quantitative method to analyze the data. The data were obtained in the year 2020 through a validated questionnaire committed to the ICT scale used by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). A total of 924 students from the sixth grade of primary education in the autonomous city of Ceuta (Spain), aged between 10 and 13, participated in the sample. The results reveal that the motivation and commitment to ICT in these age groups were medium in relation to the total mean of results on a Likert-5 scale. Boys scored higher in all the variables analyzed, and both age and gender show correlations, in addition to the factor of prediction. In conclusion, students in the sixth year of primary education, after the confinement period, were medium-high in their use and engagement of ICT. In addition, gender and age affected ICT use and engagement.

Highlights

The use of electronic tools and devices with internet access is becoming increasingly prevalent in society [1,2]
In relation to the first objective, it can be concluded that the use and commitment of information and communication technology (ICT) in students in the sixth year of primary education in the Spanish context, after the period of confinement, was medium-high
Taking the second objective as a reference, the male gender presented a higher value in the use of ICT than the female gender

Summary

Introduction

The use of electronic tools and devices with internet access is becoming increasingly prevalent in society [1,2]. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of knowing how to use and manage different technologies for communication, in both family and school settings [4]. During this period, students made more frequent use of smart devices, compared to the pre-pandemic period [5]. Students made more frequent use of smart devices, compared to the pre-pandemic period [5] They learned to manage ICT and Internet resources independently, without prior knowledge, without specific subjects, and without the support of teachers [6,7]. Young people use them to communicate with each other and to express themselves [11]

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Conclusion