Indicator 29: Computer Use
Information about computer use in schools is valuable as countries contemplate the role of computers in education. The percentage of schools using computers for instructional purposes reflects, in part, national policies on the introduction of computers into education, whereas the student/computer ratio provides a measure of student access to computers. These data, however, do not address the quality of computer hardware and software, the amount of time students have access to computers, how computers are used in instruction, or the subjects or activities in which students typically use computers.
*/ For further information on school levels, see the sidebar entitled ISCED levels of education
Table 29: Percentage of schools using computers for instructional purposes and median student/computer ratio, by level of education /1 and by country: 1989
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage of schools using computers Student/computer ratio2 ------------------------------------- ------------------------- Lower Upper Lower Upper Country Primary secondary seconday Primary secondary secondary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G-73 France 92 99 99 23 31 26 West Germany (former) - 94 100 - 47 48 Italy 43 58 80 116 90 36 Japan 12 35 94 14 143 32 United States 100 100 100 23 18 15 Other Austria - 50 100 - 29 46 Belgium (Flemish) - 78 98 - 28 35 Belgium (French) 54 93 93 28 34 38 British Columbia (Canada) 99 100 100 - - - China - - 64 - - 43 Greece - 5 4 - 52 44 Hungary - - 100 - - 27 India - - 8 - - 95 Israel 62 - 81 25 - 29 Luxembourg - 100 - - 45 - Netherlands 53 87 68 63 26 34 New Zealand 78 99 100 62 34 38 Poland - - 75 - - 53 Portugal 29 53 72 301 287 289 Slovenia - - 94 - - 50 Switzerland - 64 98 - 21 21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Not available.
1/ For the purposes of this study, primary refers to grades 4-6, lower
secondary refers to grades 7-9, and upper secondary refers to the final year of
secondary education.
2/ Median student/computer ratio in computer-using schools. Computer-using
schools refers to all schools in which computers are used for teaching and
learning purposes in grades in which the modal age of students is 9, 10, and 11
for primary, and 12, 13, and 14 for lower secondary; and in the final and
penultimate secondary grade for upper secondary.
3/ No data available for Canada and the United Kingdom.
NOTE: There is substantial variation across countries in the population of schools and students covered by the study. See supplemental note to Indicator 29 for sampling information.
SOURCE: W. J. Pelgram and T. Plomp, ed., The IEA Study of Computers in Education: Implementation of an Innovation in 21 Education Systems, (New York: Pergamon Press, 1993).
Figure 29a: Percentage of schools using computers for instructional purposes, by education level and selected G-7 country:1,2 1989
1/ No data available for Canada and the United Kingdom.
2/ Countries are sorted in descending order by the percentage of schools using computers for instructional purposes at the upper secondary level.
SOURCE: W. J. Pelgram and T. Plomp, ed., The IEA Study of Computers in Education: Implementation of an Innovation in 21 Education Systems, (New York: Pergamon Press, 1993).
Figure 29b: Ratio of students to computers, by education level and selected G-7 country:1,2 1989
1/ No data available for Canada and the United Kingdom.
2/ Countries are sorted in ascending order by student/computer ratio in
upper secondary school.
SOURCE: W. J. Pelgram and T. Plomp, ed., The IEA Study of Computers in Education: Implementation of an Innovation in 21 Education Systems, (New York: Pergamon Press, 1993).
See Supplemental Notes on Figure and Tables.
[Contextual Factors]
