Abstract

Students’ productive use of computers at school emphasizes how students are using computers and technologies when creating reports, assignments and presentations. The ability to attain digital production is of emerging importance as working life and social life are rapidly changing and becoming more digitalized. The aim of this study was to examine factors that affect productive use of computers at school among 9th graders (approximately 15 years old). A sample consisting of 833 students in 9th grade participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze a theoretical model built with factors having direct and indirect effects on productive use of computers. The analysis supported a theoretical framework where mastery orientation, students’ previous grades and information integration have a positive effect on and explain 55% of productive use of computers. Moreover, students’ gender and their parental education had a positive effect on and explained 11% of the variation in students’ grades and 12% of the variation in mastery orientation. Finally, parental education and being female had an indirect effect on the productive use of computers. The results demonstrate that parental education influences students’ achievement with and without computers. Overall, girls reported higher levels of productive use of computers compared with boys, and this finding indicates that girls are succeeding at school by using computers at school.