Adolescent Well-Being and ICT Use: Social and Policy Implications (Human Well-Being Research and Policy Making)

In this book, the authors expertly examine the issue of adolescent well-being in the light of their exposure to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) at school and home. The authors discuss a new form of inequality especially noticeable among youth, which is, digital inequality/divide, created through rapid developments in ICT. They analyze the relation between digital divide and educational inequality among youth, describe patterns of social exclusion from technology and education, and discuss related policies in industrialized nations to see how well-being issues can be addressed in this context. Comparing results based on nationally representative and internationally comparative datasets across 28 countries, the authors ask how and why the benefits accruing from ICT are substantially greater for some adolescents, but apparently smaller for others and how such differences may be reduced. They provide policy suggestions that are broadly based in the fields of well-being, secondary education, and technology use. This book is of interest to researchers and students of quality of life and well-being studies and a wide range of social science and education disciplines, including the sociology of education, media sociology, sociology of childhood and adolescence, communication studies, and science and technology education. Preface Acknowledgments Contents About the Authors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction 1.1 Adolescent ICT Use in Education Before and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic 1.1.1 Why Studying ICT Use in Education Is Important 1.1.2 The Digital Learning Divide as a Global Social Problem: The First Phase 1.1.3 The Second Phase of the Digital Learning Divide 1.1.4 The Third Phase of the Digital Learning Divide 1.1.5 The Fourth Phase: The Digital Learning Divide Since the COVID-19 1.2 Social and Policy Context Among More Affluent Countries 1.2.1 The Digital Natives 1.2.2 Two Remaining Concerns 1.2.3 The Social Landscape of More Affluent Societies 1.2.4 The Policy Landscape of More Affluent Societies 1.3 Aim of the Book 1.3.1 Analyzing Data and Countries 1.3.2 Two Research Questions 1.3.3 The Four Dimensions of Digital Inclusion 1.3.4 The Conceptual Framework and the Organization of the Book 1.4 Summary and Conclusion References 2 Research Literature on How Digital Inclusion Affects Adolescents’ Well-Being 2.1 Does Digital Inclusion Promote Students’ Well-Being? Incongruent Research Findings about ICT Effects 2.2 Differences in the Use of Statistical Methods 2.2.1 Selection Bias 2.2.2 Omitted Variable Bias 2.2.3 Other Methodological Issues 2.3 Differences in ICT Measures 2.3.1 Measures of Digital Access 2.3.2 Measures of Digital Use 2.4 Differences in ICT Use in School 2.4.1 The Prospect of ICT in Schools 2.4.2 Problems Associated with ICT Use in School 2.5 Differences in ICT Use at Home 2.5.1 The Prospect of ICT at Home 2.5.2 Problems Associated with ICT Use at Home 2.6 Effects of Digital Inclusion: Positive? Negative? Or Both? 2.6.1 An Inverted U-Shaped Relationship with Digital Use 2.7 Summary and Conclusion References 3 Literature on the Socioeconomic Digital Learning Divide 3.1 Digital Learning Divide in the Twenty-First Century 3.2 Theoretical Explanations on the Digital Learning Divide 3.2.1 The First-Level Digital Learning Divide 3.2.2 The Second-Level Digital Learning Divide 3.2.3 The Resurgence of the First-Level Digital Learning Divide 3.2.4 The Third-Level Digital Learning Divide 3.3 Digital Learning Divide by SES in Home Environments 3.3.1 Differences in How to Use ICT 3.3.2 Differences in Computer Games and Online Gaming 3.3.3 Differences in Digital Resources at Home 3.4 Digital Learning Divide by SES in School Context 3.4.1 Differences in Digital Resources in School 3.4.2 Differences in the Culture and Institutional Contexts of School 3.5 Differential Benefits of ICT Use by SES 3.6 Summary and Conclusion References 4 Digital Inclusion and Academic Performance 4.1 Methodology 4.1.1 Outcome Variables 4.1.2 Explanatory Variables 4.1.3 Family SES and Other Control Variables 4.1.4 Analytical Strategies and Methods 4.2 Home ICT Use for General Schoolwork, Reading Performance, and Family SES 4.2.1 Overall Results 4.2.2 The United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and Asia 4.2.3 South Korea, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand 4.3 Home ICT Use for Core Subjects, Reading Performance, and Family SES 4.3.1 Overall Results 4.3.2 The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, and Sweden 4.3.3 The United States, France, Australia, South Korea, and Singapore 4.4 School ICT Use for General Schoolwork, Reading Performance, and Family SES 4.4.1 Overall Results 4.4.2 Denmark and Sweden 4.4.3 Australia 4.5 School ICT Use for Core Subjects, Reading Performance, and Family SES 4.5.1 Overall Results 4.5.2 Scandinavia, the United States, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea, and Macao 4.5.3 France, Denmark, Australia, and Japan 4.6 Summary and Conclusion Reference 5 Digital Inclusion and Learning Attitudes 5.1 Methodology 5.1.1 Outcome Variables 5.1.2 Explanatory Variables 5.1.3 Family SES and Other Control Variables 5.1.4 Analytical Strategies and Methods 5.2 Home ICT Use for General Schoolwork, Enjoyment of Reading, and Family SES 5.2.1 Overall Results 5.2.2 Scandinavia 5.2.3 Western and Southern Europe 5.2.4 The United States, Australia, and New Zealand 5.2.5 Asia 5.3 Home ICT Use for General Schoolwork, Learning Attitudes in School, and Family SES 5.3.1 Overall Results 5.3.2 Scandinavia 5.3.3 Western and Southern Europe 5.3.4 The United States, Australia, and New Zealand 5.3.5 Asia 5.4 School ICT Use for General Schoolwork, Enjoyment of Reading, and Family SES 5.4.1 Overall Results 5.4.2 The United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Sweden 5.4.3 Denmark and Australia 5.5 School ICT Use for General Schoolwork, Learning Attitudes in School, and Family SES 5.5.1 Overall Results 5.5.2 The United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Macao 5.5.3 New Zealand 5.6 Summary and Conclusion Reference 6 Digital Inclusion, Psychological Well-Being, and Digital Competence 6.1 Methodology 6.1.1 Outcome Variables 6.1.2 Explanatory Variables, Family SES, and Control Variables 6.2 Predicting Students’ Perceived Sense of Belonging in School 6.2.1 The Effect of Home ICT Use 6.2.2 The Effect of School ICT Use 6.3 Predicting Students’ Perceived Positive Psychological Feelings 6.3.1 The Effect of Home ICT Use 6.3.2 The Effect of School ICT Use 6.4 Predicting Students’ Perceived Positive Meaning in Life 6.4.1 The Effect of Home ICT Use 6.4.2 The Effect of School ICT Use 6.5 Predicting Students’ Perceived ICT Competence 6.5.1 The Effect of Home ICT Use 6.5.2 The Effect of School ICT Use 6.6 Summary and Conclusion Reference 7 First- and Second-Level Digital Divides from 2009 to 2018 7.1 Methodology 7.1.1 Outcome Variables 7.1.2 Family SES and Other Control Variables 7.1.3 Analytical Strategies and Methods 7.2 First-Level Digital Divide in 2009 and 2018 7.2.1 Access to the Internet at Home 7.2.2 Access to Computers and Tablets for Schoolwork at Home 7.3 Second-Level Digital Divide in 2009 and 2018 7.3.1 ICT Use for School-Related Work at Home 7.3.2 ICT Use for Schoolwork at School 7.4 Summary and Conclusion References 8 Concluding Thoughts and Policy Implications 8.1 Opportunities and Obstacles of Developing Adolescents’ Twenty-First Century Skills 8.1.1 The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic 8.1.2 The Three Problems that Should Be Addressed 8.1.3 The Three Questions that Should Be Asked 8.2 Implications for Adolescent Students’ ICT Use 8.2.1 Digital Inclusion and Academic Performance 8.2.2 Digital Inclusion and Learning Attitudes 8.2.3 Digital Inclusion and Psychological Well-Being 8.2.4 Digital Inclusion and Digital Competence 8.2.5 Persistent Socioeconomic Digital Divide 8.3 Creating an Ideal e-Learning Environment at Home: Some Suggestions 8.3.1 Acknowledging the Importance of Home as a Key E-Learning Field in the Twenty-First Century 8.3.2 Supporting and Encouraging Parents to Assist Their Children with E-learning Activities 8.3.3 Balancing Online with Offline Activities 8.3.4 Providing Material and Social Resources to Support Students’ Digital Experiences 8.4 Integrating ICT in Secondary Schools: Some Suggestions 8.4.1 Focus on Assisting Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Adolescents 8.4.2 A Blended Pedagogical Model that Combines Online with Face-to-Face Curricula 8.4.3 Developing Students’ Online Information and Strategic Skills 8.4.4 Working Together with Business and IT Industry to Develop New E-Learning Materials 8.5 Summary and Conclusion References Appendices