ISTE | JRTE: Volume 36 Number 4 Summer

	Edited by Dr. Lynne Schrum, University of Utah
formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 36 Number 4 Summer 2004

Digital Equity: New Findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
Sharon Judge
Kathleen Puckett
Burcu Cabuk
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Abstract
This study examined young children’s differential access to computers in school and home and the varying conditions that affect how children experience computers. The sample consists of 9,840 public school children who attended kindergarten and first grade. Lower and higher poverty schools are about equally likely to have computers available for children when they start their formal schooling. However, the findings suggest that the digital gap starts to widen as children move into first grade. Even though children’s access to most computer resources at school increased from kindergarten to first grade, children attending higher poverty schools had significantly fewer computers and software programs available. Young children’s use of computers in their classrooms differed by school poverty status.

Contributors
Sharon Judge is an associate professor in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is co-author of Assistive Technology for Young Children with Disabilities as well as numerous articles on technology integration. Her research interests include teacher education, technology integration, and young children with disabilities.

Kathleen Puckett is an associate professor in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests include use of assistive technology in general education settings and use of technology in pre-service teacher education.

Burcu Cabuk is a doctoral student in Early Childhood Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research interests include teacher education and the use of technology in early childhood education.

Download the full article (PDF, 105 KB, PDF Instructions)

Contact
Sharon Judge
A 416 Claxton Complex
Knoxville, TN, 37996-3442
shl@utk.edu

Kathleen Puckett
419 Claxton Complex
Knoxville, TN, 37996-3442
kpuckett@utk.edu

Burcu Cabuk
A 423 Claxton Complex
Knoxville, TN, 37996-3442
burcu@utk.edu