Implementing tablets in Norwegian primary schools: Examining the outcome measures in the second cohort

Abstract

This study examines the implementation of tablets in primary schools in Norway. The outcome measures in the study are external for the intervention and are recorded data from national tests (National reading, arithmetic and English Tests, Classes 5, 8 and 9; National Mapping Tests for reading and arithmetic, Classes 1–3; and the 2014–2017 National Pupil Survey). The entire study (N=15, 708) relies on an explanatory, sequential mixed-methods design (Fetters, Curry, & Creswell 2013), and in this study we examine the quantitative effects of this implementation. The results indicate that the impact of tablets on pupils’ school achievement varies. It seems that tablets contribute more positively to boys’ school achievements than to girls’ school achievements. However, we cannot rule out that a grade effect may also have an impact on the results, and we therefore request that the results be read with this reservation.