Abstract
This study explores digital equity by examining gender and socioeconomic differences in students’ use of computers at home. It presents research findings of a territory-wide survey of 825 eighth-graders from 36 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Results of MANOVAs and ANOVAs indicate significant socioeconomic and gender effects on the home computing of students, including (1) socioeconomic difference in access and hours of computer use, learning-related use and parental mediation in guidance and (2) gender difference in learning-related use, and parental mediation in guidance and worry. No interaction effect was observed. The research provides empirical evidence that will stimulate discussion on issues regarding digital equity and students’ home computing.
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Acknowledgments
This study is a part of the public policy research projects—“Educational Inequality and ICT Use in Schools: Bridging the Digital Divide” (HKU7025-PPR-10) and “Digital Divide in Education: An Experiential Understanding” (HKU7032-PPR-12)—funded by the Government’s Central Policy Unit, and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
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Yuen, A.H.K., Lau, W.W.F., Park, J.H. et al. Digital Equity and Students’ Home Computing: A Hong Kong Study. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 25, 509–518 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-016-0276-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-016-0276-3