Research Article Summary
SDSU EDTEC 541 ~ Summer, OnlineSummary: Gender Difference in Computer Skills
Title: "Gender Inequalities of Self-Efficacy on Task-Specific Computer Applications in Business"
Name: Edward K. Beale
Date: 6/22/2006Reference: Shotick, J, & Stephens, P. R. (2006). Gender Inequalities of Self-Efficacy on Task-Specific Computer Applications in Business. Journal of Education for Business. 81(5), 269-274.
Problem: The study explored the hypothesis that male and female college students have significantly different opinions of their own skill level regarding various business-related computer tasks. The hypothesis is interesting to Instructional Designers because many businesses use computer equipment to deliver training. Differences in skill between students affects training development.
Context: The test group consisted of 137 incoming freshmen, evenly split between 69 women and 68 men. Eighty percent of the men and seventy five percent of the women had used computer technology in high school, and all but one had a computer at home. The test group self-rated their skill level with twenty one specific business-related computer tasks, such as using email, browsing the web, and working with a database. Students rated their perceived ability on a five-step scale, from "one" meaning very little ability, to "five" meaning very good ability, and "zero" if they felt they had no ability in the skill. Average scores were tabulated, and each specific skill was subjected to a pooled variance t test.
Findings: The hypothesis was partially supported by the data. Male and female students showed no significant difference in perceived skill level for eight tasks, such as word processing, email, and chat rooms. The researchers considered these "communication functions" to be non-technical. The male students rated their skill level significantly above the female students with the remaining thirteen skills, such as database use, newsgroups, and file transfers. The researchers categorized these skills as more "technical and mathematical", and believe societal gender schema push males to cultivate such skills. For communication and general computer use, the gender skill gap has evaporated. Technical skills still show some level of gender disparity.
Recommendations: Ninety percent of the students stated they learned computer applications through personal use, and understandably were more capable with tasks with which they were familiar. To further close the gender gap, the researchers recommend female students be afforded more opportunities to develop technical computers skills. The authors offered no recommendations for further research.
1. It is possible self-assessed skill level may have been inflated by males and/or deflated by females. Students should be given an objective test of skill in each of the twenty-one metrics, and the hypothesis tested again. The results of this test would allow training to focus on specific metrics.
2. In the near term, Instructional Designers should anticipate a mild gender gap for technical skills, and develop their material to maximize use of more common skills. All students have a high degree of confidence with internet research, viewing full-text articles, email, word processing, using a database, and chat. Content delivery should maximize use of these skills.
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