ICT in mathematics education: an HLM analysis of achievement, access to and use of ICT by African middle school students

Abstract

This study examined the influence of access to and frequent use of information and communication technology (ICT) in school and home settings on achievement in mathematics for Grades 8 and 9 African students. A large-scale international database, that of the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study was used and hierarchical linear models were employed to examine school- and student level variables. Findings showed that student access to ICT during a lesson was significant and a positive predictor for student learning outcomes in mathematics, while teacher integration of ICT into pedagogy as a mediating factor had a negative association. Student-level ICT predictors, for example access to ICT at home, had a positive association with student learning outcomes in mathematics, while intensity of student ICT use was a negative predictor; this applied even after controlling for age, gender, and educational resources at home.