Assessing the students' digitalization at country level by building a composite index based on PISA 2018

ALDERETE MARÍA VERÓNICA

International Journal of education Economics and Development

Inderscience Publishers

Año: 2023

This paper makes a contribution to measure ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) adoption by students and compare it amongst different countries. A composite index named Students Digitalization Index (SDI) is built based on 2018 PISA database and by applying multivariate statistical techniques. The index assesses ICT adoption beyond equipment acquisition (ICT access) and activities perform by using ICT (ICT use), and includes students perception of their digital skills and competences (ICT engagement). A digital gap between countries was detected. Statistically significant mean differences are observed in terms of type of country, household income, gender, grade repetition, and parents’ highest education. There are no other composite indexes to compare students’ digitalization amongst countries. The SDI index is useful to explain the consequences of mass quarantine due to the COVID-19 in the educational field. Countries with a low SDI are expected to suffer more as they are less prepared for virtual education.