Parental influence on children's home computer use and digital divide in education

Abstract

This case study compares the data from two secondary schools and attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the construct of parental influence on children's information and communication technology use at home. It identifies five components of parental influence: parents' information and communication technology (ICT) skills, parental monitoring, parental control, parental guidance and parental worries. The relationships among these components were often complex with intriguing similarities and differences among the participants. The findings suggest the existence of certain inequalities in education or, as the authors prefer to call it, the digital divide in education.