Introduction to Gender Differences in Computer and Information Literacy

Abstract

As computer and information technologies increasingly dominate modern life, educators and policymakers recognize the importance of ensuring that all students are able to use computers to investigate, create, and communicate effectively. Intriguingly, results from IEA’s International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) of grade eight students, undertaken in 2013, indicated that female students generally had higher computer and information literacy (CIL) scale scores than male students. This book further analyzes the data collected by ICILS 2013, providing an in-depth investigation of the gender differences in the CIL abilities of students and their teachers. After establishing how CIL (and other similar constructs) are assessed, this chapter reviews the existing research into gender differences in students’ CIL; this is based mainly on data collected by large-scale assessments. Patterns in students’ use of information and computer technologies, their perceptions of computer technology, and their sense of competence in using computer technologies reveal gender differences that might be associated with the differing development of students’ CIL. Gender differences among teachers, in their confidence in the use of computer technologies and their attitudes to the pedagogical use of those technologies, are also examined.