Abstract

Background:
This study aims to investigate the impacts of information and communication technology (ICT) use on students’ math and science achievements, with a special focus on examining the trends of these relationships over the past decade.

Materials and methods:
Data from all five waves of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) from 2000 to 2012 were used. Three-level hierarchical linear modelling revealed that school-level ICT-related variables had positive influences on learning outcomes when national GDP, school type, and school ICT investment, were controlled for.

Results:
The findings indicated that the relationships between different types of ICT use with math and science achievement were negative in the long term when students’ families’ social economic status was held constant. In addition, self- confidence in Internet tasks was discovered to be beneficial to both math and science, and thus, suggestions were made to develop students’ confidence in conducting ICT-related activities.

Conclusions:
It is noteworthy that consistent trends were identified in both math and science among 15-year-old students. The findings are very helpful for better understanding how ICT use affected students’ learning outcomes from a long-term view. This study’s overall findings have better generalizability and are of particular importance for both education researchers and policy makers.