Informatics in Education

The purpose of the study is to examine the moderating effect of age on gender differences in teachers’ self-efficacy for using information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching as well as possible variables underlying this effect. Following Bandura’s conceptualisation of self-efficacy, we defined teachers' self-efficacy as their confidence in performing specific tasks that require the integration of ICT into the teaching practice. The study was conducted via an online questionnaire on a sample of 6613 elementary and upper secondary school teachers in Croatia. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis was applied. The findings indicate minor gender differences in self-efficacy for using ICT that are more prominent among older teachers and practically non-existent among younger teachers. These effects remain statistically significant after controlling for the type of school where the teacher works, perceived technical and professional support for using ICT in school, and frequency of use of computer programmes in teaching. The interaction effect ceases to be statistically significant after the introduction of length of computer use in teaching and/or attitudes towards computers in the model, indicating that these two variables have a role in low self-efficacy for using ICT among older female teachers. A similar level of self-efficacy for using ICT among young male and female teachers is an encouraging finding which could hopefully be followed by gender equality in other aspects of ICT use. The findings suggest that strategies for enhancing ICT self-efficacy should be particularly targeted at older female teachers. This study contributes to a better understanding of the underresearched topic of gender differences in teacher’s ICT self-efficacy.

New technologies are evidently gaining access to daily school life. Considering new challenges, the educators search for new ways to update educational content in the 21st Century when learning paradigms are changing. Soon, the new technological tools and solutions become predominant and change the traditional approach to teaching and learning. The new technologies not only help the educators to provide the relevant educational content in an easier and diverse way, but also to organise the evaluation of the results. This is particularly important for the educational process, taking into account the relevant issues of the period.

This article gives a general framework for the understanding of the use of ICT in primary, secondary (vocational education excluded) and tertiary education in both Finland and Hong Kong. We describe the quantity and quality of ICT infrastructure and teachers' skills and attitudes towards it. Based on various surveys and scientific research, the pedagogical use of ICT is also studied from the pupils' and teachers' viewpoint. There is also some discussion on developmental challenges.

The main task of this follow-up study was to describe teachers' expectations, experiences and possible changes in the pedagogical use of ICT. As a part of an ICT development project, three sets of data were gathered from a region in Eastern Finland, by means of questionnaire. A total of 156 teachers of primary and early secondary education returned the questionnaire in 1999, 155 teachers in 2001, and 81 in 2004. The results indicate that teachers have increased their use of various ICT applications (especially data processors, web-browsers, e-mails, and CD-ROMs) both in their private lives and in pedagogical practice. Based on their own self-assessment, the teachers' ICT abilities have improved during the project period. Co-operative activities by means of ICT also increased between colleagues. Although teachers saw ICT as helpful for pupils' learning, some sceptical attitudes emerged as well.

Mongolia started using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in secondary education relatively late. The computer training and informatics has been included as a subject in the secondary school curriculum in Mongolia since 1988 and in the university curriculum since 1982. This paper presents current situation of informatics education in Mongolia. SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat) analysis of Informatics Education in Mongolia, conclusions and future recommendations are also presented.

Computers, information and communication technology (ICT) are more and more involved in the education process. Students should learn to use information technologies (IT) in a suitable, effective way, and when learning any subject they should be capable to implement computer facilities and thus develop their learning methods. Competitions are an excellent tool to achieve these goals. Competitions play an important role as a source of inspiration and innovation - youngsters are attracted by competitions, they get easier involved in such an activity, more willingly discuss and become more active. IT contests may be a key to the potential of new knowledge and an attractive way of binding up technology and education.

The study is the first attempt to systematically gather information about what is happening in research and education in the ICT field in the Baltic countries and Northwest Russia, so it is mostly a general investigation and fact-finding project, leading to possible future research and activities in the field.