Gender Inclusiveness in Educational Technology and Learning Experiences of Girls and Boys
Irma Heemskerk and Geert ten Dam
University of Amsterdam
Monique Volman
VU University Amsterdam
Wilfried Admiraal
University of Amsterdam
Abstract
The use of technology (information and communication technology, ICT) in secondary education is an important aspect of the current curriculum and of teachers’ pedagogy. Learning supported by computers is supposed to be motivating for students and is, therefore, assumed to have positive effects on learning experiences and results. However, the question remains whether these motivating effects are equal for all students. Although the gender gap in the use of ICT and knowledge about it has diminished, there are still indications that the use of technology in education affects girls and boys differently. The present empirical study focuses on the relationship between the inclusiveness of educational tools and the learning experiences of girls and boys. The results show that gender scripts are embedded in educational tools, which are reinforced in classroom practice and affect learner experiences. A greater inclusiveness of the tools appears to improve the participation of students, enhances positive attitudes toward learning and technology, and improves the learning effects as reported by girls and boys. Girls especially tend to benefit from the inclusiveness of educational tools.
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Contributors
Irma Heemskerk is a researcher at the SCO-Kohnstamm Institute of the University of Amsterdam. Her main areas of research are social inequality in education, ICT in education, and the educational labour market.
Geert ten Dam is a professor of education and rector of the Graduate School of Teaching and Learning of the University of Amsterdam. Her research interests centre on citizenship education and social inequality in education in relation to learning and instruction processes.
Monique Volman is a professor of education at the Centre for Educational Training, Assessment, and Research (CETAR) and the Department of Education of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her main areas of research are learning environments for meaningful learning, diversity, and the use of ICT in education.
Wilfried Admiraal is an associate professor of education at the Graduate School of Teaching and Learning of the University of Amsterdam. His academic background is social and organizational psychology. His main activities include management of projects in the area of ICT, secondary education and teacher education, research in similar projects, and tutoring PhD students.
Contact
Irma Heemskerk
SCO-Kohnstamm Institute, University of Amsterdam
Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130 1018 VZ
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Phone: +3.120.525.1519
Email: I.M.C.C.Heemskerk@uva.nl
Geert ten Dam
Graduate School of Teaching and Learning, University of Amsterdam
Spinozastraat 55, 1018 HJ
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: G.T.M.tenDam@uva.nl
Monique Volman
Department of Theory and Research in Education, VU University Amsterdam
De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: MLL.Volman@psy.vu.nl
Wilfried Admiraal
Graduate School of Teaching and Learning, University of Amsterdam,
Spinozastraat 55, 1018 HJ
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
E-mail: W.F.Admiraal@uva.nl
Copyright 2009, (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.
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