Toys for the boys
29-August-2005
permalinkInteresting little nugget from the Education Guardian. Seems like we get a report every day on whether computers are a good or bad thing for kids. Either way they are a reality. Not sure what I think about this one. I am not sure you can blame computers per se for boys playing games and the widening gender gap. Are they saying boys play games more now because of computers?
I would have also liked some analysis based on class. Sadly there is no link to the full report.
"Computers are widening the gender gap in schools, as boys spend their spare time playing games while girls use them for homework, new government research has found.
The report, carried out for the Department for Education and Skills by academics at Leeds and Sheffield universities calls on schools to try to "redirect" boys' use of computers towards school work.
It found that pupils who used computers for their school work scored higher grades in their GCSEs and national tests than those without access to computers at home.
But children - mainly boys - who regularly played computer games achieved significantly lower grades.
The research comes as the latest GCSE figures showed boys are still lagging behind girls in many key subjects.
The academics, working with BMRB market researchers, said their findings reinforced the view that computers are "boys' toys".
"Girls were more likely than boys to use home computers for school work, reflecting their more conscientious attitude to study rather than a preference for ICT," they said.
"This pattern has implications for the gender gap, given that high leisure use was a negative factor for progress."
Technorati Tags: e-learning
