Understanding the relationships among ICT use, self-efficacy, and achievement in PISA 2022: A multigroup analysis featuring gender and immigrant status

This study investigates the relationships among students’ use of ICT for learning and leisure, self-efficacy in digital competencies, and achievement in math, reading, and science, and compares differences based on gender and immigrant background. Previous studies show inconsistent relationships among these variables. Student background affects the use of ICT, and while self-efficacy may vary depending on the subject, it has had positive effects on academic achievement. In this study, self-efficacy in digital competencies is viewed as two different competence beliefs: computer and information literacy (CIL) and computational thinking (CT). Although self-efficacy in CIL and CT has had varying effects on digital skills, the effects on math, reading, and science are not well studied. We analyzed Finnish data ( N = 10,239) from PISA 2022 using general and multigroup structural equation modelling. We found that ICT use for learning had little to no practical significance across groups. ICT use for leisure and self-efficacy in CT were associated with being approximately a year or more behind in math, reading, and science across groups. Self-efficacy in CIL was associated with being two or more years ahead and played a protective short-term role as a mediator, especially in immigrants. These findings imply that closer integration of ICT use for learning with subject-specific goals in authentic learning contexts may promote their contribution to achievement. Further research should examine how different uses of ICT and CT skill development interact with subject learning in practice and how schools can be supported in adopting more pedagogically purposeful digital activities. • ICT use for leisure is detrimental to math, reading, and science. • Girls benefit slightly from ICT use for learning, but boys do not. • Immigrant students' achievement does not benefit from ICT use for learning. • Computer and information literacy is beneficial for math, reading, and science. • Computational thinking is detrimental to math, reading, and science.