When More Is Not Better: The Nonlinear Association Between Classroom ICT Use and Digital Literacy Across 35 Education Systems
This study examined the association between students' classroom use of general ICT applications and computer and information literacy (CIL) across 35 education systems participating in ICILS 2023. Jurisdiction-specific weighted regression models were estimated using all five CIL plausible values and 75 jackknife replicate weights while adjusting for socioeconomic background, sex, and age. Jurisdiction-specific coefficients were synthesized using random-effects meta-analysis. Linear models indicated a modest positive association between classroom ICT use and CIL, but quadratic models consistently provided a better fit. The quadratic coefficient was negative in 34 of the 35 jurisdictions, yielding a pooled estimate of −5.66 (95% CI −6.58 to −4.74). Predicted CIL increased with classroom ICT use to approximately the midpoint of the international scale, after which gains diminished and CIL gradually declined. This nonlinear pattern was remarkably consistent across education systems and did not vary meaningfully by socioeconomic background. These findings suggest that the educational value of classroom ICT use depends not only on how often digital technologies are used, but also on how they are integrated into teaching and learning.