Are classroom internet use and academic performance higher after government broadband subsidies to primary schools?

Silles, Mary; Hyland, Marie; Layte, Richard; Lyons, Sean; McCoy, S

Abstract

This paper combines data from a government programme providing broadband access to primary schools in Ireland with survey microdata on schools’, teachers’ and pupils use of the internet to examine the links between public subsidies, classroom use of the internet and educational performance. Provision of broadband service under a government scheme was associated with more than a doubling of teachers’ use of the internet in class after about a two year lag. Better computing facilities in schools were also associated with higher internet use, but advertised download speed was not statistically significant. A second set of models show that use of the internet in class was associated with significantly higher average mathematics scores on standardised tests. There was also a less robust positive association with reading scores. A set of confounding factors is included, with results broadly in line with previous literature.

Citation

Silles, M., Hyland, M., Layte, R., Lyons, S., & McCoy, S. (2014). Are classroom internet use and academic performance higher after government broadband subsidies to primary schools?. University of Hull

• Publication Date: 2014
• Deposit Date: Feb 9, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 9, 2016
• Journal: Research memorandum (University of Hull Business School) ; 93
• Publisher: University of Hull
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: Are classroom internet use and academic performance higher after government broadband subsidies to primary schools?
• ISBN: 9781906422301
• Keywords: Internet use, Primary education, Academic performance
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/385205
• Contract Date: Feb 9, 2016