Digital divide in secondary education: Student profiles from a gender perspective in STEM disciplines

Identifier:  imarina:9414871

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9414871

Authors:  Nino-Cortes, Luz Mayra; Grimalt-alvaro, Carme; Serrano, Vanessa; Sanabria, Irma Zoraida

Abstract:
Digital Competence (DC) has become essential in today's society, transcending the network access gap. In the academic field, this competence has led to the study of the Digital Divide in education, on the inequality of opportunities in the development of students' Digital Competence (DC), which is aggravated by socioeconomic factors, and the Gender Digital Divide due to the disparities between women and men in DC, and in preferences towards STEM disciplines. This study aimed to characterize the profiles of secondary school students, triangulating socio-demographic, academic and technological indicators, and to analyze whether these factors affect students' academic aspirations and digital inclusion. A cluster analysis was carried out using the R clustering package. The profile of boys reveals an interrelation between socio-demographic, technological and academic aspirations, a phenomenon that is not evident in the profile of girls. Boys of high socio-economic status show a high perception of their DC, together with a positive attitude towards Digital Technologies (DT) and defined academic aspirations in STEM. Girls, irrespective of socio-economic status, and despite having a positive attitude towards Digital Technologies and a medium DC, show academic preferences different than STEM.