University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

New Perspectives: An Analysis of Gender, Net-Generation Children, and Computers

Dresang, Eliza T.; Gross, Melissa; Holt, Leslie

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/4580

Description

Title
New Perspectives: An Analysis of Gender, Net-Generation Children, and Computers
Author(s)
  • Dresang, Eliza T.
  • Gross, Melissa
  • Holt, Leslie
Issue Date
2007
Keyword(s)
  • Gender
  • Computing
  • Public libraries
Abstract
In the Project CATE (Children’s Access to and Use of Technology Evaluation), based on grades 4–8 children’s responses from surveys, focus group participations, and observations in the Saint Louis Public Library, girls’ attitudes toward computers and toward their skill level were equally as positive as those of their male counterparts. Girls differed little from boys in what they wanted to learn and how they used computers, with games the largest portion of observed computer use for both genders. Eighty-five parents queried by survey and ten by focus group responded very similarly about their children’s attitudes and use. Juxtaposing this study with other contemporary research findings suggests that some former research results, as well as conventional wisdom about gender differences in relation to computers, no longer hold true for net-generation youth. The need for moving on beyond these already-addressed issues into more sophisticated analyses is established. The Project CATE study is unique in speaking to these gender-related questions in a public library setting. The results draw attention to the public library as a venue for studying informal use of computers and for self-generated information seeking and recreation, as well as homework- related use, in a gender-neutral environment.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/4580
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2007 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Owning Collections

Library Trends 56 (2) Fall 2007: Gender Issues in Information Needs and Services PRIMARY
Library Trends 56 (2) Fall 2007: Gender Issues in Information Needs and Services. Edited by Cindy Ingold and Susan E. Searing.