Jerram Froese
CECS 5610, Spring 2006
Journal Article Summary
Reference: Christensen, Rhonda, Gerald Knezek, and Theresa Overall. "Transition Points for the Gender Gap." Journal of Research on Technology in Education 38 (2005)
Principle: Prior research indicated that boys and girls had little difference in attitude towards computers at a young age. By the time they reached secondary schooling, however, boys reported a higher level of computer enjoyment. This article seeks to fill in the missing gap of when this attitude shift takes place between genders, and explores some possible reasons why.
Design: A descriptive study utilizing a questionnaire that is based primarily on the Young Children’s Computer Inventory questionnaire. This Likert type scale was used to collect data from 50 Texas public schools, both rural and urban. Data collection varied through the course of the study and included data from the KIDS project (3,600 student responses from 1999-2004), a 2000-2001 urban study (4,400 responses), a 2002 replication study in rural and semi-urban settings and a 2005 replication study (4,600 responses) in an urban area. The surveys used for collecting the data were tested for reliability with results being “minimally acceptable” to “very good” .
Independent Variables: Gender and Grade were the Independent Variables for this study.
Dependent Variable: Primarily, computer enjoyment and self attitude toward computers were the dependent variables in this study.
Procedures: Survey’s were given to students across K-12 grades assessing their attitudes towards computers. The data were collected primarily online and focused primarily on student self perception.
Results: The findings of this article demonstrate a shift in attitude/enjoyment of computers during a students middle school years. By the time students are in the 8th grade, boys have overtaken girls in enjoyment of computers. Prior research indicates that this may be due to the way that boys and girls differ in computer use. An argument has been presented that boys tend to play more on computers while girls tend to use computers for a purpose. Despite speculations, further research is needed to determine other factors that may play a role in the shifting attitudes of boys and girls through the 6th – 8th grades.
Comments: While research has shown that attitudes towards computers are not very different for boys and girls at the 1st grade, it has been apparent that by the time they are in secondary school, attitudes of computer enjoyment are much stronger for boys. This study demonstrates a more detailed timeline across grade levels as to when and where this shift takes place.