ERIC Number: EJ747163
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-7757
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Is There an Impact of Household Computer Ownership on Children's Educational Attainment in Britain?
Schmitt, John; Wadsworth, Jonathan
Economics of Education Review, v25 n6 p659-673 Dec 2006
If personal computers (PCs) are used to facilitate learning, then a home computer might be considered a potential input in an educational production function. Using data on British youths from the British Household Panel Survey between 1991 and 2001, this paper explores the link between ownership of a home computer at ages 15 and 17 and subsequent educational attainment in the principal British school examinations taken at ages 16 (GCSEs) and 18 (A-levels). The data show a significant positive association between PC ownership and the number of GCSEs obtained and with the probability of passing five or more GCSEs. These results survive a set of robustness tests, including using other household durables and "future" PC ownership as proxies for household wealth and other unobservable household level effects. Home computer ownership is also associated with a significant increase in the probability of passing at least one A-level and with an increase in the probability of successfully completing three or more A-levels, conditional on having passed at least one A-level.
Descriptors: Computers, Ownership, Adolescents, Educational Attainment, Probability, Foreign Countries, Exit Examinations, Statistical Surveys, Family (Sociological Unit), Economic Status, Achievement Rating, Educational Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: British Household Panel Survey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A