Computer Access A Pointer To The Future
The Age
Friday March 28, 2008
HAVING a home computer increases the chances of a teenager graduating from school, and boosts further educational prospects.
A new discussion paper says that home access plays a role in children's graduation prospects, warning of a "digital divide" in homes.Compiled by visiting US academics to Canberra's Australian National University, the paper found that teenagers who have access to home computers are six to eight percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than those who do not. The theory is that computers have a positive impact on graduation rates because they reduce participation in non-productive activities, such as truancy and crime - as well as making it easier to complete school assignments. The academics - Daniel Beltran, Kuntal Das and Robert Fairlie, who are guests at the ANU's Centre for Economic Policy Research - used two major US studies and compared the data to computer ownership figures. "We find fairly consistent evidence that home computers have a strong positive relationship with high school graduation and additional educational outcomes," they wrote.University of Technology Sydney lecturer Mario Fiorini said the findings were not surprising."The children who are richer, with better educated parents, are also more likely to graduate and, at the same time, they are also more likely to have a computer at home," he said. "Overall I do believe that it is quite an important thing to have access to a home computer." -- BRIDIE SMITH
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