Testing the Digital Divide: Does Access to High-Quality Use of Technology in Schools Affect Student Achievement?
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: TESTING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: DOES ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS AFFECT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? Gregory Keith Talley, Doctor of Education, 2012 Directed By: Professor Emeritus, Willis D. Hawley, Education Leadership, Higher Education and International Education This study investigates the relationship between access, use of technology and student achievement in public middle schools in Maryland. The objective of this study was to determine whether a digital divide (differences in access and utilization of technology based on student characteristics of race, socioeconomic status, and gender) exists among schools, and whether those differences relate to mathematics and reading achievement. More specifically, the study uses school data on technology access, students’ instructional uses of technology, and teacher technology proficiency from the 2007 Maryland Technology Inventory. This study analyzes student demographic data and assessment results from the 2007 Maryland School Assessments in reading and mathematics obtained from the Maryland State Department of Education. The data analyses use descriptive and multivariate statistics to determine the existence of digital divides and their effects on reading and mathematics achievement. Analysis of these data described patterns of technology access and use in order to determine whether differences in access and use resulted in a digital divide. Differences in access and use were then examined to determine their impact on reading and mathematics achievement levels. Findings indicated that digital divides exist in the student-to-computer ratio and the number of teachers with classroom computers, and digital access was positively associated with eighth-grade mathematics and reading proficiency scores. However, student classroom computer ratios were negatively associated with achievement, controlling for other factors. Digital divides in students’ use of technology for publishing text, organizing information, and communicating information were identified, with access to technology for these tasks/skills and positively associated with mathematics and reading scores, but connecting language to words had a negative impact. Teachers’ use of technology for creating instructional materials had a positive impact on reading scores but a negative impact on mathematics achievement, when the researcher controlled for other factors. Findings suggest that differences exist in several areas of technology access and use when considering student characteristics of race, socioeconomic status, and gender. This study contributes to existing research on the effects of technology on instruction and informs state and local policy on instructional technology implementation and practice. TESTING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: DOES ACCESS TO HIGH-QUALITY USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS AFFECT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? By Gregory Keith Talley Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education 2012 Advisory Committee: Professor Willis D. Hawley, Chair Professor Patricia F. Campbell Professor Robert G. Croninger Professor Steven J. Klees Professor A. Skipp Sanders © Copyright by Gregory Keith Talley 2012 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, Rhonda Jean Talley, whose steadfast love, moral support, and confidence fulfill my life and make it possible to fulfill my dreams. ii Acknowledgments I would like to extend my deep appreciation to the people on the Advisory Committee who gave so generously of their time in helping me complete this dissertation: Dr. Willis Hawley, Committee Chair, for his commitment and warm encouragement and for his patient, tactful guidance throughout the creation of the proposal, the execution of the study, and the preparation of the dissertation; Dr. Robert Croninger, my instructor, who provided solid advice from an early conception of the study through the design, procedures, and statistical analysis that helped shape my thinking about conducting research; Dr. Patricia Campbell, for her insights on the proposal and her advice on methodology; Dr. Steven Klees, my instructor, who provided important considerations for designing the research and suggestions for improving the methodology; and Dr. Askew Sanders, my mentor, who encouraged me to pursue the doctoral program and whose advice, encouragement, and editorial comments were invaluable. I would also like to thank my colleagues and the staff of the Maryland State Department of Education who assisted in providing the data necessary to conduct this study and Annette Carter for her assistance in editing the dissertation. I would like to express appreciation to my family: to my wife, Rhonda, for her confidence and encouragement; to my children, Garrett and Girard, for patience and understanding; and to my parents, Alexander and Harriet, for instilling in me the value of a good education. iii Table of Contents Dedication……………………………………………………………………….…....ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………….……….iii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………... ..iv List of Tables………………………………………………………………………. .vii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… viii Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………..1 Technology and Learning ......................................................................................... 2 Technology Access in Schools ................................................................................. 4 Teacher Technology Efficacy ................................................................................... 5 Technology Use ........................................................................................................ 8 Digital Divide.......................................................................................................... 10 Technology and Student Achievement ................................................................... 13 Research Problem ................................................................................................... 14 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 15 Importance of this Study ......................................................................................... 16 Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................. 18 Chapter 2: Literature Review………………………………………………………. ..19 Background on National Technology Policies ....................................................... 20 Background on Maryland Technology Policies ...................................................... 21 Technology and School Reform ............................................................................. 22 Digital Divide.......................................................................................................... 24 Measuring the digital divide. .................................................................................. 25 Racial divide ........................................................................................................... 26 Socioeconomic status divide (SES) ........................................................................ 27 Gender divide ...................................................................................................... 29 Technology Access in Schools ............................................................................... 28 Measuring technology access ................................................................................. 28 Computer access measures ..................................................................................... 28 Internet access ........................................................................................................ 32 Home access ........................................................................................................... 32 Software access ...................................................................................................... 33 Current trends in access .......................................................................................... 34 Technology Use in Schools .................................................................................... 35 Technology Use Measures ...................................................................................... 37 Technology use by students ................................................................................... 39 Digital Divide in Technology Use .......................................................................... 41 Internet use ............................................................................................................. 42 iv Teachers’ technology experiences .......................................................................... 43 Technology and Effects on Student Achievement .................................................. 46 Technology access and student achievement ......................................................... 47 Is There a Relationship Between Digital Divide and the Achievement Gap? ........ 51 Measuring the achievement gap ............................................................................. 51 Chapter 3: Methodology…..……………….……………………………………….. 55 Research Hypotheses .............................................................................................. 56 Participants .............................................................................................................