Resources by subject > Computer and Information Technology > Computer access at school and at home
Excerpts from The Daily. Tuesday, October 29, 2002
2000
Canadian students rank among the highest in the world in terms of access to computers both at home and at school, according to two reports released today.
Data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that a typical 15-year-old Canadian student in 2000 attended a school at which there was one computer for every six students.
This is well above the average of one computer for every 13 students within member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as shown in the international report, Education at a Glance.
In addition, an article in the current issue of Education quarterly review showed that Canada was close to achieving universal access to high technology at home, also according to PISA data. Nearly 9 out of every 10 young Canadians had a computer at home, and 7 out of 10 had access to the Internet at home.
However, data also revealed a gender difference for 15-year-old students in both Canada and across OECD nations. In all countries, boys were more likely than girls to have a computer available at home for use almost every day, a few times each week or between once a week and once a month.
Computers at school: Canada on par with the United States, Australia and New Zealand
The average number of students per computer is a proxy for the extent to which technologies are accessible to students. On average in OECD countries, there was one computer for every 13 students, but the ratio varied widely from one country to another. In both Australia and the United States, there was one computer for every five students; six students shared a computer in both New Zealand and Norway.
In contrast, however, more than 20 students shared a computer in Germany, Greece, Mexico, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
In Canada, 15-year-old students reported high rates of access to computers at school. Just over three-quarters said computers were available for use almost every day or a few times a week. This compared favourably with reports of frequent access in other countries.
Across OECD countries, 56% of 15-year-old students reported they could access a computer at school almost every day, or a few times a week. Again, access varied widely, ranging from more than 80% of students in Australia to less than 25% in Germany.
Canadian principals surveyed as part of PISA 2000 reported that 80% of school computers were connected to the Internet. Across OECD countries, about one-half of school computers were linked to the Internet.
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Note to readers
Data in this release are from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a collaborative effort among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In Canada, PISA is administered through a partnership of the Council of Ministers of Education, Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada.
This program is designed to regularly assess the achievement of 15-year-old boys and girls in reading, mathematics and scientific literacy using a common international test. Canada and 31 other countries participated in PISA 2000, which focussed specially on reading. In Canada, about 30,000 15-year-olds from more than 1,000 schools took part in the spring of 2000.
The PISA 2000 survey included a direct assessment of students' skills through reading, mathematics and science tests as well as questionnaires collecting background information from students and school principals.
The PISA 2000 main student questionnaire contained two questions on possessions in the home in which a link to the Internet and a computer were among the items on the list of possessions. Students were also asked about their use of computers and the Internet at school. School principals were asked questions pertaining to the number of computers available in the school, connections to the Internet and resource limitations.
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Australia, Finland, Iceland and Luxembourg also had high rates of school connectivity, with 80% or more of their school computers on-line. Although the United States was among the world leaders in the number of students per computer, only 39% of their school computers were connected to the Internet.
Access to computers greater at home than at school
Access to computers was even higher at home. In Canada, 85% of 15-year-olds said computers were available for use at home almost every day or a few times each week. Greater access at home was true across most OECD countries, in which 70% of 15-year-olds on average had frequent access to computers at home.
Not only were school and home computers highly accessible in Canada, these computers were also well-connected. However, home computers in Canada were less likely to be connected to the Internet than school computers. Only 69% of Canadian 15-year-olds said they had a link to the Internet at home. Home Internet access in Canada, however, still exceeded the OECD average of 45%.
Australia (67%) and the United States (69%) had rates of home access to the Internet comparable to Canada. Thus, in Australia, access to the Internet was also more prevalent at school than at home, but the opposite was the case in the United States.
Having access to computers does not mean that computers are being frequently used. This was especially the case at school. In Canada, 15-year-old students were much more likely to cite frequent use of computers at home than they were to report frequent use at school. Although more than 70% of 15-year-olds used a computer at home almost every day or a few times a week, only 39% did so at school.
More frequent home use of computers was also true in most OECD countries. On average, across OECD countries, 60% of 15-year-old students reported frequent home use, compared with 38% at school.
Boys more likely than girls to have access to computers at home
Findings from a detailed analysis of the relationship of access and use to students' background, based on PISA 2000, reveal that in Canada, 15-year-old girls were less likely than boys to have a computer at home and less likely to have Internet access at home.
The gender difference for 15-year-olds was consistent across OECD countries. In all countries, boys were more likely than girls to have a computer available at home for use almost every day, a few times each week or between once a week and once a month.
In Canada, 15-year-old students whose parents had higher levels of education were more likely to have access to a computer at home and to have access to the Internet at home.
Schools play role in reducing digital divide
Children living in lone-parent families were also much less likely either to have a computer or access to the Internet at home. However, schools can play an important role in reducing this digital divide in Canada.
For example, parental factors were not strongly related to computer use in schools. Although 15-year-old students in single-parent families were 40% less likely than those in two-parent families to use computers at home, they were equally likely to use them at school.
The availability of computers at school did not reduce the difference between the sexes, as 15-year-old girls were still less likely to use computers at school.
The gender difference may be partly explained by differing attitudes of 15-year-old girls and boys towards computer use. Although 70% of boys felt that it was important to work with a computer, only 58% of girls felt the same way. About 85% of girls reported they felt comfortable using a computer, compared with 92% of boys.
The article "Information and communication technology: Access and use" is available as a free preview article of Education quarterly review, Vol. 8, no. 4 (81-003-XIE) | 
