Always behind a computer, but less computer literate

Eighth-graders in Slovenia use computers for extracurricular activities more often than kids from other countries, according to a new survey.

Unfortunately, this does not necessarily improve their computer literacy and thinking.

Slovenia participated in the international survey ICILS 2023 for the second time. 33 other countries or educational systems participated in it.

What were the results presented by the Slovene Pedagogical Institute and the Ministry of Education?

This also applies to most of the other countries that participated in the survey during this period.

In Slovenia, 169 primary schools with 170 departments were surveyed, including:

• 3318 children,
• 2337 teachers,
• 161 principals, and
• 168 ICT coordinators.

Slovenian students scored 511 points in computer and information literacy in 2013.

In 2023 Slovene students scored an average of 485 points, about as many as their Croatian peers.

While they performed below average in computational thinking. They got 448 points, or 35 less than the average.

And the good news?

The differences between the schools in this area are small.

The results show that half of eighth-graders need support when working with digital technology.

Dr. Vinko Logaj, Slovene Minister of Education

Improvements can be made in the future by training teachers who teach in these fields. The Minister of Education announced that Slovenia is also preparing to revise the curriculum.

With this, students should strengthen their skills for solving more complex problems.

Glossary

Extracurricular activities are activities, clubs, or classes (ex. sports, music, art, languages) outside the regular school curriculum.

Computer and information literacy (CIL) is an individual’s ability to use a computer to investigate, create, and communicate in order to participate effectively at home, at school, in the workplace, and in society.

Computational thinking (CT) is the ability to recognize real-world problems that are suitable for computer processing.

Complex is complicated – versatile and comprehensive.

ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology.

Points to Consider

1. How often do you use the computer at home?
2. Who helps you use digital technology?
3. Can you guess which countries do best in the area of computer literacy?

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The original version of this article was published on November 13^th.