School and Teacher Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) readiness across 57 countries: The alignment
Rongxiu Wu1, Weipeng Yang2, Graham Rifenbark1
1Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut, CT 06268 Storrs, USA.
Education and Information Technologies
|August 1, 2022
Summary
This study found school Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) readiness is comparable across countries, but teacher ICT readiness is not. This impacts international comparisons of educational technology integration.
Area of Science:
- Educational Technology
- Cross-cultural Psychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) readiness is crucial for modern education.
- International assessments like PISA 2018 provide data on educational contexts.
- Measurement invariance is essential for valid cross-country comparisons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the measurement invariance of school and teacher ICT readiness scales.
- To assess the comparability of ICT readiness data across 57 countries in PISA 2018.
- To apply an alignment optimization method for analyzing ICT readiness scales.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an 11-item scale measuring school and teacher ICT readiness.
- Employed a novel alignment optimization method for measurement invariance testing.
- Analyzed data from 57 countries participating in the PISA 2018 assessment.
Main Results:
- The school ICT readiness subscale demonstrated measurement invariance across countries.
- The teacher ICT readiness subscale showed overall noninvariance, limiting direct comparisons.
- Rankings indicated top-performing countries in school ICT readiness (e.g., Singapore, USA) and lower-ranked countries (e.g., Mexico, Brazil).
Conclusions:
- School ICT readiness can be meaningfully compared across diverse national contexts.
- Teacher ICT readiness measures require careful interpretation due to cross-country differences.
- Findings enhance understanding of global educational technology integration and inform policy.
