Articles producció científica> Pedagogia

The digital gender gap in secondary school: differences in self-perceived competence and attitude towards technology

  • Identification data

    Identifier: imarina:9324069
    Authors:
    Nino-Cortes, Luz MayraGrimalt-Alvaro, CarmeLores-Gomez, BeatrizUsart, Mireia
    Abstract:
    The digital gender gap, defined as the difference between men and women in the use and exploitation of digital technologies (DTs), translates into an unfavorable social and economic scenario for women. Responding to this reality means exploring the development of Digital Competence (DC) and the attitude towards the use of DTs, to offer training that truly reduces possible differences between genders. This article investigates gender differences, both in self-perceived DC, and in the attitude towards the use of DTs throughout secondary education in Spain. The research is quantitative, with a survey design. The sample is made up of 3249 boys and girls, students in the 2nd and 4th year of ESO and the 2nd year of upper secondary school. The Digitalis-ESO questionnaire measures self-perceived DC (α=.908), attitude (α=.914), and other demographic data. A descriptive analysis of frequencies, a comparative and correlational study, using chi-squared, t-tests and Pearson correlations, is performed. Boys report higher levels of DC perception and attitude than girls, with medium effect sizes. Furthermore, DC improves with the course for both genders, while attitude worsens significantly for girls. The detail of the DC items indicates that girls perceive themselves as more skilled in academic and communication-related activities, while boys believe they excel in technical activities. Finally, the analysis of attitude towards the use of DTs shows a strong incidence on the self-perception of DC, both for boys and girls. These results confirm the existence of a digital gap in favor of boys, thus training and support actions are necessary for girls, especially in technical aspects of DC, which also help them improve their attitude towards the use of DTs.
  • Others:

    Author, as appears in the article.: Nino-Cortes, Luz Mayra; Grimalt-Alvaro, Carme; Lores-Gomez, Beatriz; Usart, Mireia
    Department: Pedagogia
    URV's Author/s: Grimalt Alvaro, Maria del Carme / Usart Rodríguez, Mireia
    Keywords: Seperception Secondary school students Ict Gender Digital competence Attitude self-perception secondary school students science policy gender attitude
    Abstract: The digital gender gap, defined as the difference between men and women in the use and exploitation of digital technologies (DTs), translates into an unfavorable social and economic scenario for women. Responding to this reality means exploring the development of Digital Competence (DC) and the attitude towards the use of DTs, to offer training that truly reduces possible differences between genders. This article investigates gender differences, both in self-perceived DC, and in the attitude towards the use of DTs throughout secondary education in Spain. The research is quantitative, with a survey design. The sample is made up of 3249 boys and girls, students in the 2nd and 4th year of ESO and the 2nd year of upper secondary school. The Digitalis-ESO questionnaire measures self-perceived DC (α=.908), attitude (α=.914), and other demographic data. A descriptive analysis of frequencies, a comparative and correlational study, using chi-squared, t-tests and Pearson correlations, is performed. Boys report higher levels of DC perception and attitude than girls, with medium effect sizes. Furthermore, DC improves with the course for both genders, while attitude worsens significantly for girls. The detail of the DC items indicates that girls perceive themselves as more skilled in academic and communication-related activities, while boys believe they excel in technical activities. Finally, the analysis of attitude towards the use of DTs shows a strong incidence on the self-perception of DC, both for boys and girls. These results confirm the existence of a digital gap in favor of boys, thus training and support actions are necessary for girls, especially in technical aspects of DC, which also help them improve their attitude towards the use of DTs.
    Thematic Areas: Revistas de ciencias de la educación Pedagogical & educational research Education & educational research Education Educación Educació Educação Ciencias sociales Ciencias de la educación
    licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
    Author's mail: mireia.usart@urv.cat carme.grimalt@urv.cat
    Author identifier: 0000-0003-4372-9312 0000-0002-5314-7706
    Record's date: 2024-08-10
    Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
    Link to the original source: https://revistas.uned.es/index.php/educacionXX1/article/view/34587
    Licence document URL: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/
    Papper original source: Educacion Xx1. 26 (2): 299-322
    APA: Nino-Cortes, Luz Mayra; Grimalt-Alvaro, Carme; Lores-Gomez, Beatriz; Usart, Mireia (2023). The digital gender gap in secondary school: differences in self-perceived competence and attitude towards technology. Educacion Xx1, 26(2), 299-322. DOI: 10.5944/educxx1.34587
    Article's DOI: 10.5944/educxx1.34587
    Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili
    Journal publication year: 2023
    Publication Type: Journal Publications
  • Keywords:

    Education,Education & Educational Research
    Seperception
    Secondary school students
    Ict
    Gender
    Digital competence
    Attitude
    self-perception
    secondary school students
    science
    policy
    gender
    attitude
    Revistas de ciencias de la educación
    Pedagogical & educational research
    Education & educational research
    Education
    Educación
    Educació
    Educação
    Ciencias sociales
    Ciencias de la educación
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