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Kids with access to a home computer are more likely to graduate, digital divide study finds

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Access to a home computer increases the likelihood that children will graduate from high school, but blacks and Latinos are much less likely to have a computer at home than are whites, according to a new study by a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, that also found the digital divide is even more pronounced among children than adults
Although many studies have explored the impact of computers in schools, and the federal government has made computer access in schools a priority, very few studies have assessed the impact on youth of having a computer in the home. Among the key findings of Fairlie's research:
• Teenagers who have access to home computers are 6 to 8 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than teens who lack access to a home computer, after controlling for individual, parental, and family characteristics.
• Only 50.6 percent of blacks and 48.7 percent of Latinos have access to home computers, compared to 74.6 percent of whites.
• Only 40.5 percent of blacks and 38.1 percent of Latinos have Internet access at home, compared to 67.3 percent of whites.
• Among children, slightly more than half of all black and Latino children have access to a home computer, and about 40 percent have Internet access at home. By comparison, 85.5 percent of white children have home computer access, and 77.4 percent can use the Internet at home.
• Asians have home computer and Internet access rates that are slightly higher than white rates (77.7 and 70.3 percent, compared to 74.6 and 67.3 percent).
• Among Latinos, Mexicans have the lowest home computer and Internet access rates, followed by Central and South Americans.

posted by Sarafuddin @ 12:12 AM