The evolution of the association between ICT use and reading achievement in 28 countries

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of 15-year-old students’ use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for fun and for learning at school and at home between 2009 and 2018. It also considers how the association between ICT use and reading achievement evolved over the same period. Results indicate that ICT use increased and that the increase was especially marked when considering ICT used for learning (both at school and at home). Boys increased their use of ICT for fun and for learning at school more than girls. Trends in ICT use did not differ by parental educational attainment. Over the same period, no quantitatively meaningful changes in reading achievement were observed. In line with the previous literature, we find that the association between different forms of ICT use and reading achievement takes an inverted U shape, with students engaging in low and high levels of use having lower levels of reading achievement than students engaged in medium levels of use. Over time, the association between different uses of ICT and reading achievement changed and became more positive at low levels and less negative at high levels of use. However, the large and rapid increases in levels of use observed between 2009 and 2018 led to more students being located in the ‘high levels of use’ category. The cumulative, contrasting effects of changes in levels of use and changes in the association between ICT use and reading achievement led to stable levels of achievement at the population level.