Proposal of a Framework for the Assessment of ICT Literacy and Examining the Structure of High School Students' ICT Literacy: A Case of Turkey

Abstract

Development levels of societies are highly correlated with the efficiency in usage of information and communication technologies between people belonging to those particular societies. For this reason, this study aims to investigate ICT literacy levels of high school students, to find out the general profile in terms of literacy levels and to reveal the students' internet usage purposes according to their ICT literacy levels. So as to achieve this goal a questionnaire developed by the researchers was conducted among the students at their 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th levels of study. Sample of the study encompassed different types of high schools in the Sakarya province of Turkey including Anatolian High School, Science High School, Vocational & Technical High School, Private Anatolian High School and Sports School. Students were questioned so as to determine their ICT literacy levels and to find out reasons behind their internet usage by means of variables representing school type, gender, level of study (9, 10, 11, 12), average success score and frequency of usage. As a result, even though the purpose of internet usage demonstrated a common trend among groups having different levels of ICT literacy, priorities for the usage of internet changed among different levels.