This study aims to investigate the impact of computer use for learning and recreation on the differential level of academic performance according to gender using Korea Educational Longitudinal Survey panel data for middle school students. To this end,...
This study aims to investigate the impact of computer use for learning and recreation on the differential level of academic performance according to gender using Korea Educational Longitudinal Survey panel data for middle school students. To this end, latent growth modeling was used. In the growth model of academic performance, for both initial value and growth rate, girls perform better in Korean language and worse in mathematics than boys. The growth model of computer use for learning shows a linear decreasing change, while computer use for recreation shows a nonlinear-increasing trajectory. In the growth model of computer use, boys shows lower computer use than girls for initial value, however, they show higher growth rate of computer use for recreation as time goes by. Also, while computer use for learning and recreation has a positive and a negative effect, respectively, on the initial value of growth in Korean Language and Math, computer use for learning affects the growth rate of Korean Language. Computer use for learning has a significant effect on the relationship between gender and the initial value of the growth model for Korean Language as a mediator variable.