1. Francesc Pedró Katerina Ananiadou Seoul, 9 – 11 November 2009
The New Millennium Learners: Technology and Educational Performance (PISA 2006 data)
Francesc Pedró
Katerina Ananiadou
Seoul, 9 – 11 November 2009
Strand of work within the NML project, examining PISA 2006 data to investigate any relationships between use of technology and educational attainment among 15 year olds. Carried out by team both within CERI and in collaboration with other directorates in OECD.
Policy background that instigated work: the fact that there seems to be little or contradictory evidence on the impact of ICT on educational performance. So have the high investments in ICT made by most if nto all countries over the last years been paying off? In what ways?
PISA data provide good comparative statistics on subject knowledge that can help us to answer some of these questions.
2006: focus on science

2. Access to ICT in schools is almost universal in OECD countries…
One indicator of access is simply experience of computer use.
Almost all 15 year olds in OECD countries has some experience of using computers.
In terms of access to computers at school, all OECD countries but Mexico report that 100% of students are in schools with at least one computer. In mexico this is the case for 98% of students.

3. …but relatively low levels of use
Also interesting to see to what extent students actually use computers at school. Average for OECD who declare never to use a computer at school is 12%, ranging widely from 1% in Denmark to 42% in Korea.

4. Increasing investment in ICT infrastructure in schools…
Increasing investment in ICT since 2000, seems to have leveled off since 2003 with an average of 0.2 computers per student, i.e. five students per computer. But cross-country variation.
This may mean that no significant investments in computer equipment have been taking place between 2003 and 2006 or that these have been used to replace old computers by new ones.

5. …matched by increasing access to ICT at home.
Data on educational resources at home. Left hand side OECD countries. Countries where majority of students use computers at home for schoolwork also have a link to the internet, but links to the internet more limited in general.
Also interesting that books more present that educational software in all countries.

6. ICT use at home is higher than at schools
In al countries except Hungary students report using the computer at home more than at school.
Finally, PISA data does not provide enough information to learn whether home use and school use might be influencing each other. What it does show though, is that one is not increasing against the other, as students frequent use on average in OECD countries increased in a similar percentage in both places since PISA Nevertheless, it is important to learn more about this relationship and to design school policies that develop a closer connection between student’s ICT uses at home and at school. This is relevant first, because it would allow connecting school and home learning more closely by, for example, developing online learning resources that students could access and use from their homes. Second, because schools could build a bridge between students’ outside culture and in-school culture, by for example including some of the out-of-school digital activities into school lessons or after-school activities. And thirdly, schools could be able to have a more fluent communication with parents and engage them more actively in their children’s education, by for example promoting Internet communication with parents.

7. No association between school ICT use and educational performance
Turning to ICT use and educational performance.
This graph shows no association between frequency of use at school and performance in science in PISA In fact on average in OECD countries frequent users perform slightly lower than moderate or rare/non-users.

8. Clear association between home ICT use and educational performance, but…
In every country rare or non-users score lower than their peers reporting frequent use at home. But not all of these differences are significant in all countries.

9. … the association is not linear. Time use optimum?
Earlier studies suggested that what matters is not so much how much ICT is used but the types of usage.
Developed indices for measuring students; overal ICT usage on a continuous scale.
Students divided into four groups: top group is most frequent users, bottom group least frequent users. More frequent users more likely to have lower scores. Second quarter students have highest scores. This does not mean that ICT usage leads to higher or lower scores, just association.
Similar findings from PISA 2003 for maths and PISA 2006 for reading.

10. Key messages
Less than 1% of 15-year-old students in OECD countries have never used a computer
The majority use a computer at home frequently, less so at school
Educational software is the least used educational resource at home in most countries
There is a stronger correlation between educational performance and frequency of computer use at home than at school
In the light of the progress made since 2000 it may be expected that the remaining 1% will have faded by now.
Lack of association between school use and educational performance may be due to critical level of use not having been achieved.

11. Thank you katerina.ananiadou@oecd.org