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ICT learning experience and research orientation as predictors of ICT skills and the ICT use of university students
Journal Contribution - Journal Article
Abstract Since our first studies of information and communications technology (ICT)
skills and ICT use at universities in 2004, ICT and its use by students has changed
greatly. In order to obtain a more detailed picture of ICT skills, we first construct a new
instrument to measure the self-perception of ICT skills (49 items) and of ICT use
(53 items) by students. This allows us to find some patterns for ICT skills and ICT use.
In order to explain these patterns, two basic hypotheses are formulated. The first
suggests that positive ICT learning experiences at home, in school, and with peers
could contribute to mastering a higher level of ICT skills and more frequent use of ICT
among bachelor’s students, a hypothesis that aligns with Dewey’s learning theory. The
second hypothesis suggests that there is a similarity between the characteristics of
information systems and scientific research, and that students who identify more with
scientific research would be more likely to have greater ICT skills and a higher
frequency of ICT use. Both hypotheses are tested among bachelor’s students, using
some important contextual variables (gender, domain of study, ICT course in secondary
school or at university, and education level of parents). It can be concluded that there is a
relationship between the ICT learning experience and the research-oriented identity
commitment of bachelor’s students on the one hand, and their command of ICT skills
and the frequency of use of computers, ICT instruments, and ICT programs on the other.
Journal: Education and Information Technologies
ISSN: 1360-2357
Issue: 1
Volume: 21
Pages: 71 - 103
Publication year:2016
Accessibility:Open