EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PURPOSE OF COMPUTER USAGE AND READING SKILLS OF TURKISH STUDENTS: EVIDENCE FROM PISA 2006

ABSTRACT

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has conducted a series of educational assessments in many OECD and non-OECD countries to support their sustainable economic growth since 2000. These assessments are named Program for International Student Achievement (PISA); they focus on the capabilities of 15-year olds in three main subjects: mathematics, science, and reading. PISA also measures students’ interests and tendencies toward information and communication Technologies. This study investigates the relationship between Turkish students’ reading scores and their use of computers for educational and entertainment purposes across males and females, by using the data from PISA 2006. In order to examine the relationship between these variables, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used in the study. Results of this study indicate that while the use of computers for entertainment purposes affects students’ reading scores positively, the use of computers for educational purposes affects their reading scores negatively. Also, according to our results, there is not a statistically significant difference between male and female students in this relationship.