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Surveyed boys who used email at home were brighter and more popular than boys who did not – according to a recent study by an educational psychologist from Curtin University.

 
The study* by School of Education Senior Lecturer Genevieve Johnson analysed responses by 51 boys and 44 girls at a Canadian primary school.

Dr Johnson likened the situation of boys who did not use email to that of boys from a generation or two before who did not watch TV.

“Think back to when you were a little kid if one of your friends didn’t have a lunch box with the latest cartoon characters on it – because they didn’t watch TV – they were almost socially isolated because they didn’t know what was going on,” Dr Johnson told Curtin News.

“So when we say that children who use the internet under certain circumstances are more popular – that’s true.”

The girls surveyed by Dr Johnson were more likely than the boys to use email at home, but at school the girls and boys reported very similar use.

The similarity between boys’ and girls’ email use suggested internet teaching at school may be closing the technology gender gap. [continue reading…]