Computers and Elementary Education Students: A Ten Year Analysis

W. Michael Reed, Joseph R. Ervin, Jr., and John M. Oughton

Journal of Computing in Childhood Education, Vol 6, No. 1 1995, p. 5-24

This study was based on computer-related experiences and computer anxiety of elementary education majors across a 10-year period, beginning with the 1985-1986 academic year and ending with the 1994-1995 academic year. Findings include (a) the more recent elementary education majors had more prior computer experience than those entering the program earlier in the 10-year period; (b) they also had lower computer anxiety than those entering earlier; and (c) male elementary education majors had higher computer anxiety than female elementary education majors. The elementary education findings were also compared to mathematics education majors' findings and the English education majors' findings in order to provide a comparative view.

This paper centers on 10 years of collecting the following computer-related data about elementary education majors at West Virginia University: Prior Computer Use, Gender, and Computer Anxiety. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effects of year-of-program-entry, prior computer use, and gender on computer anxiety as well as patterns in the types of prior computer use with which elementary education students have entered the teacher education program over a 10-year period.

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