June 2008 — News
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Are Underprivileged Students Better Off Without Computers?
According to the research, "For five out of our six outcome variables, the interaction between winner and having a mother at home is large and with the opposite sign of the main effect. Moreover, these interactions are statistically significant for homework hours per week, GPA and the behavior grade. In other words, the presence of a stay-at-home mom substantially mitigates the negative effects of winning a computer voucher on these outcomes."
"We don't want to argue against the introduction of technology in poor countries," Malamud said. "But we are saying that it is important to be cognizant of the risks associated with computer use. The possibility that home computer use might displace more valuable developmental activities is a real concern. Policymakers need to be aware of these issues as they try to bridge the digital divide both across and within countries. Providing parents with the necessary skills/tools to supervise and monitor their children's computer activities would probably be extremely helpful in alleviating these risks."
The researchers concluded that the role of the parent in "shaping the impact of home computer use on child and adolescent outcomes" is an important factor that needs to be addressed in programs aimed at bringing technology to underprivileged youth.
"Thus, our findings suggest caution regarding the broader impact of home computers on child outcomes. They also raise questions about the usefulness of recent large-scale efforts to increase computer access for disadvantaged children around the world without paying sufficient attention to how parental oversight affects a child's computer use."
Malamud said he and Pop-Eleches are "exploring the possibility" of further research on the Euro 200 program. The complete current report can be found here.
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About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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