Some Gender Issues in Educational Computer Use: Results of an International Comparative Survey

In the framework of the Computers in Education international study of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), data have been collected concerning the use of computers in 21 countries. This article examines some results regarding the involvement of women in the implementation and use of computers in the educational practice of elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary education in participating countries. The results show that in many countries computer use in schools is dominated by men. Female teachers have less regard for their skills and knowledge than their male colleagues have for their own skills and knowledge. In all countries (except for the French-speaking countries) less than half of the schools had a special policy for the promotion of equal opportunities for boys and girls with regard to computer use. This school policy mostly consists of retraining a female teacher to become a computer science teacher, or a female teacher being selected as computer coordinator.