The relation between students’ socioeconomic status and ICT literacy: Findings from a meta-analysis

Highlights

• This meta-analysis synthesized the correlation between SES and ICT literacy.

• The overall SES-ICT literacy correlation was r = 0.21, 95% CI [0.18, 0.24].

• The type of SES measure explained 17% of the within-sample variance.

• Study design, measurement, and sample characteristics moderated the correlation.

• The findings indicate the existence of a digital divide in the ICT domain.

Abstract

This meta-analysis synthesized the relation between measures of socioeconomic status (SES) and students' information and communication technology (ICT) literacy—a skillset that has found its way in educational curricula. Using three-level random-effects modeling across 32 independent K-12 student samples that provided 75 correlation coefficients, we identified a positive, significant, and small correlation, $\overline{r}$ = 0.214, 95% CI [0.184, 0.244]. This correlation varied between studies and was moderated by the type of SES measure, the type of ICT literacy assessment, the broad categories of ICT skills assessed, the assessment of test fairness, and the sampling procedure employed. The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that students’ ICT literacy differs between socioeconomic status groups, thus pointing to a gap in the domain of ICT. However, the relation between SES and ICT literacy was weaker than those reported in other educational domains, such as mathematics and reading. Carefully designed studies and measures for which a validity argument has been crafted are needed when studying achievement gaps in the domain of ICT in future studies.