Purpose: This paper highlights the fluidity with which youth make decisions about engaging with digital technologies including online social media. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities that literacy curriculum that centers digital technologies can have for students from immigrant communities through tracing the…

In today's job market, computer skills are part of the prerequisites for many jobs. In this paper, we report on a study of readiness to work with computers (the dependent variable) among unemployed women (N = 54) after participating in a unique, web-supported training focused on computer skills and empowerment. Overall, the level of participants'…

This paper is grounded in a qualitative approach, to call forth the views of Muslim teenage girls on their access and use of learning technologies for inclusive educational practice. The 45 Muslim teenage girls, aged 14-19 years old, from three British Muslim girls schools participated in this empirical study. Semi-structured interviews were used…

The scarcity of women in ICT-related studies has been systematically reported by the scientific community for many years. This paper has three goals: to analyze gender differences in self-concept of computer and math abilities along with math performance in two consecutive academic years; to study the ontogeny of gender differences in self-concept…

In the "Digital Divide" research, adult women have generally been found to be the weakest group when compared with others. There is thus a need to provide this particular group with computer literacy training, and to give them opportunities to learn about using computers. In such training, women not only need to learn computer skills,…

This study investigates the attitudes of a group of low-status women towards computers through a deliberately designed computer training programme. Four aspects of the women's attitudes were examined, including computer anxiety, confidence, liking and usefulness. Data sources consist of pre- and post-surveys and interviews with the participants.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a 40-hour computer course for beginners provided to a group of unemployed women learners with no/minimum computer literacy skills who can be characterized as digital immigrants. The aim of the study is to identify participants' perceptions and experiences regarding technology,…

This article argues that research on gender and adult learning too often regards men and women as unified and separate groups, and does not take intra-gender variation into account. It presents one possible approach to address this problem, in a study of 142 women and 35 men attending basic computer courses in Swedish municipal adult education…

This study examined the relationship between computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy of students and teachers in elementary and secondary schools. The sample included a total of 845 subjects from two private school systems in Turkey. The Oetting's Computer Anxiety Scale was used to measure computer anxiety whereas the Murphy's Computer…

Research has shown that girls do not participate as much as boys in Information Technology (IT) in the senior years of high school. Despite research in the 1990s which identified the under-representation of girls in IT, the same pattern still continues. In addition, the complex reasons for this gender divide, and how to counter it, remain unclear.…

The "Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge" (TPACK) framework has been used to prepare pre-service science teachers at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait for ICT integration in education. Pre-service teachers worked in teams to design an ICT solution for an authentic problem they faced during in-school…

With the ever-increasing impact of computerized communication and information delivery, the need to encourage learning about technology is critical for the older population today as well as for soon-to-be retirees. Adler (1996, 2002, 2003) has described and defined the key benefits to seniors: enhanced communication with family and friends,…

Discusses the role of computers in today's world and the construction of computer use attitudes, such as gender gaps. Suggests how schools might close the gaps. Includes a brief explanation about how facility with computers is important for women in their efforts to gain equitable treatment in all aspects of their lives. (PA)

Suggests that gender gaps that once existed with regard to computer access, use, and perceived expertise are narrowing significantly. Findings are based on survey data from 512 middle school students in three areas: self-perception of computer skills and their acquisition; exposure to technology at home and at school; and media style and content…

This paper examines the evidence for the digital divide based on gender. An overview of research published in the last 20 years draws to the conclusion that females are at a disadvantage relative to men when learning about computers or learning other material with the aid of computer-assisted software. The evidence shows that the digital divide…