Self-perception of the digital competence of the sixth-grade pupils and the gender digital divide
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Keywords:
gender digital divide, Primary education, self-perception, STEM
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Abstract
In today’s society there is still a gender digital divide, although the curriculum of the primary education (PE) system contemplates students’ digital competence (DC) as a cross-cutting issue, the gender perspective vector appears separately from digital technology (DT). For this reason, this article aims to investigate the level of self-perceived DC and possible gender differences, as well as future expectations among sixth grade students in a public school, with the aim of reflecting on the state of the question regarding the gender digital divide. A quantitative methodology was used, applying the Digitalis 6P questionnaire that measures self-perception of TD in a population sample of 48 sixth-grade pupils. The results indicate that boys perceive themselves as more competent than girls, except in the communicative dimension where this trend is reversed. The quantitative analysis of self-perceived CD reveals a gender digital divide. In the section of open-ended questions on expectations for their future career, it is deduced how self-perceived DC, as a function of gender, could influence the choice of future STEM professions. Based on these results, a decalogue is proposed with key elements that could be taken into consideration to overcome the digital gender gap from PD, to eliminate gender bias and prejudice in the field of TD.
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