Educational ICT use outside school in the European Union: disparities by social origin, immigrant background, and gender

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes inequalities in using information and communication technologies (ICTs) for educational activities outside school by social origin, immigrant background, and gender. It examines whether these inequalities just work additively or whether certain combinations of these groups are associated with specific advantages or disadvantages and which factors drive these differences. Data from the EU sample of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 are used for the empirical analyses. The results show that male students with immigrant background and highly educated parents have the highest frequency of educational ICT use, while native female students with less educated parents show the lowest frequency. However, the group categories also interact: An academic family background is more advantageous for students with immigrant background and for boys than for native students and girls. The male advantage can be attributed to a general higher frequency of boys using ICTs in their free time, while the advantage of an academic family background is mainly due to a better endowment with educational resources at home. Implications for research and practice are discussed. IMPACT SUMMARY a. Prior State of Knowledge: Inequalities in students’ (offline) educational activities according to their social origin, immigrant background, and gender are well known. Differences in students’ ICT usage have been documented as well. However, the two literatures have hardly been combined so far. b. Novel Contributions: The paper examines whether inequalities in adolescents’ ICT use for educational purposes outside school exist according to social origin, immigrant background, and gender. It also analyzes how far these inequalities interact and which factors drive these inequalities. c. Practical Implications: As some social groups were shown to be less familiar with educational ICT use at home, all students should be supported in acquiring familiarity in using ICTs for educational purposes, e.g., by strengthening the inclusion of ICTs at school.