Has the Increased Access to Computers at Home Caused Reading Achievement to Decrease in Sweden?

The main purpose of this article is to present results from analyses of the effects of the availability of home computers on the development of reading literacy. Previous research has generated conflicting results on this issue. In this article, we argue that conflicting results are due to methodological limitations in the analyses, as they have been based upon cross-sectional data. Here, data from the 10-Year Trend Study and PIRLS 2001 and 2006 are used with an analytic approach that takes advantage of the longitudinal character of the data at the country level, through relating change in home computer use to change in reading achievement. Results from both studies show that home computer use has a negative effect on reading achievement. The analyses also indicate that the negative effect on achievement is mediated by the effect of home computer availability on out-of-school reading activities. Beyond the results, this article off ers an example of how the use of international data can be used to shed light on national patterns while, at the same time, reducing many of the methodological problems to gain information about causality that are usually inherent in cross-sectional studies.

"Results from both studies show that home computer use has a negative effect on reading achievement. The analyses also indicate that the negative effect on achievement is mediated by the effect of home computer availability on out-of-school reading activities." (Authors, in Abstract)