Gender Differences in Canadian Grade 11 Students' Interactions with Computers : Results of a National Study / Betty Collis and Others.

A nationwide survey of over 3,000 grade 11 students (approximately equal numbers of males and females) representing major urban areas in all ten provinces was undertaken to obtain baseline data on access to and usage of computers in each of three categories--recreational, nonrecreational home usage, and school--and to test a "manifold model" of computer-student interaction in a Canadian context. The impact of gender differences and of usage category differences on the overall system of computer-related attitudes and actions was a particular focus of the study. Regardless of the use to which computers are put, or the location--home or school--in which computers are used, grade 11 females in this sample are less likely than males to be frequent computer users. From a theoretical perspective the study supports a "manifold model" approach that represents the mutual interrelationships between various clusters of variables relevant to a young person's decision to make use of a computer, e.g., access, general and personal attitudes toward computers, social issues and values, computer self-perception, and use and user stereotypes. This model has considerable potential as a framework for subsequent refinements in the study of the relationships between Canadian adolescents and computers. (GL)

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