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The impact of portable computers on pupils' attitudes to study
Author(s) -
Morrison H.,
Gardner J.,
Reilly C.,
McNally H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of computer assisted learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.583
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2729
pISSN - 0266-4909
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2729.1993.tb00099.x
Subject(s) - likert scale , mathematics education , semantic differential , curriculum , psychology , pedagogy , social psychology , developmental psychology
Over two hundred pupils in nine schools were provided with a personal portable computer for a whole school year. One aspect of the research was to assess the impact which high access to information technology (IT) had on the pupils' attitudes to their schools and to the core disciplines: mathematics, English and science. The attitudes of the experimental and control groups (those with and those without portables) to the disciplines and to their schools were measured using 25‐item semantic differential and 28‐item Likert instruments respectively. Factor analysis revealed that positive impacts of high access to IT upon the attitudes of pupils was relatively marginal and confined to instances where the pupils' process‐based IT work transferred to the content domains in their disciplines. An interpretation of these affective findings, informed by recent National Curriculum research, is offered.