THE GENDER FACTOR IN COMPUTER ANXIETY AND INTEREST AMONG SOME AUSTRALIAN HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS

The purpose of the study in this short report was to examine the issue of gender as it influences students' perceived anxiety towards the us e of computers and interest in computer usage. Data were collected fro m 142 boys and 139 girls enrolled in Year 11 in 14 senior high schools in Western Australia. The boys and girls were matched in four variabl es: home ownership of computers, enrolment in computing class, years o f experience in using computers and socioeconomic status. Anxiety data collected using the Computer Anxiety Scale showed a significant diffe rence in the anxiety levels of the boys and girls in the sample, with the girls recording a higher mean anxiety score. For computer interest , the boys had a significantly higher mean score than the girls. The r esults are discussed within the context of existing literature, and im plications for computer education and for further research are drawn.