Secondary school students' use of computers at home

A survey of students in Year 9 in secondary schools in England investigated access to computers at home, frequency and duration of use, the applications used and students' reasons for using a computer at home.

Abstract

This article presents the results from a survey of students in Year 9 in secondary schools in England (ie, aged about 14 years) which investigated access to computers at home, frequency and duration of use, the applications used and students' reasons for using a computer at home. Responses showed that the majority of students had access to a computer, although few had one for their sole use. The most widely used applications were games/adventures and word processors. There were significant gender differences in access to computers at home, frequency of using computers and the applications that students spent most time using.