An Empirical Study on the Influencing Factors of ICT Application: A Large Scale Survey for Middle and Primary Schools in China

Abstract

ICT application is the core driving force for optimizing the development of educational information system. In this paper, to explore the different influencing factors of ICT application in middle and primary schools, the following works have been done: Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis is used to classify ICT application into three dimensions. Secondly, a series of linear regression models are used to test whether ICT policy influences ICT application. Finally, by analyzing the different influencing effects in urban and rural areas, combined with the actual situation, the paper made a comparative analysis for influencing factors of ICT application between the urban and rural middle and primary schools. In this paper, we found that: 1. ICT application could be investigated from three aspects: digital educational resources, online learning and educational environment. 2. There was a certain degree of correlation between ICT application and ICT policy in schools of all regions, that is to say ICT policy can influence ICT application. 3. Because ICT application in urban and rural areas were at different stages, different school policies also affected them differently. In the conclusion, influencing factors on ICT application for schools in urban and rural areas were different, then we put forward some suggestions for ICT policy at the school-level respectively. We hope the way China coped with can provide the developing countries even underdeveloped areas, such as the African region with some feasible ideas.