![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
Abstract
According to governments around the world, developing and sustaining technological skills and competencies are seen to be a key part of a student's ability to engage with twenty-first century schooling. Yet to what extent do students believe in the association between technological competence and their success at school? This short research paper presents an initial analysis of data from a large-scale survey of secondary-school students in England (n=1303). Analysis of these data suggests that official expectations about the close linkages between scholastic success and information and communication technology (ICT) use are not necessarily shared by students themselves. For example, students' belief in the educational value of ICT competence was low in comparison to their beliefs about technology use in other areas of their lives. Belief in the educational value of ICT competence was also found to be at its highest with students in their initial year of secondary schooling, and at diminished levels with students studying in all other year groups. Moreover, belief in the educational value of ICT competence was highest for those students who had less opportunity to access computers or the Internet. It is suggested that these data could reflect a trend of older and more experienced students coming to realise that technological competence is of limited scholastic value – in contrast to official portrayals of the educational benefits of technology use.
Acknowledgements
The data reported on in this paper were collected as part of the ‘Developing Media Literacy: Towards a Model of Learning Progression’ research project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-062-23-1292). The authors would like to thank the schools, students and teachers who participated in the survey, as well as David Buckingham, Andrew Burn, Mandy Powell and Becky Parry.