Abstract

The Children of the Future project is a 3-year (1990-1993) study of the attitudes towards and experiences with computers of nearly 200 children between 7 and 12 years of age at 13 leisure centers, or after-school day care centers, throughout Sweden. The major aims of the project are to: (1) develop an educational method to help children work better with computers; (2) build an infrastructure between children and educators based upon computer communication and electronic mail; (3) develop children's social competence; (4) promote equal opportunities for boys and girls, and for children from lower and upper social classes; and (5) increase educators' knowledge about computers as an educational tool. Children responded to two questionnaires, one at the beginning and one at the end of the school year, about their family's socioeconomic status and their interaction with computers and other electronic technology. Results indicated that, although children from lower-class backgrounds had more access to cable television, video cassette recorders, and television game systems than did children from upper-class backgrounds, children from upper-class backgrounds were twice as likely as children from lower-class background to have access to a computer at home. It was also found that girls had a somewhat higher interest in computers, and used them more often, than boys did. (MDM)

Citation

Isaksson, T. Children of the Future. Retrieved August 10, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/147214/.

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Keywords

• Children
• computer literacy
• Computer Uses in Education
• educational technology
• elementary education
• Elementary School Students
• Foreign Countries
• School Age Day Care
• Sex Differences
• SOCIAL DIFFERENCES
• student attitudes