ICILS 2018 Fact Sheet

Long title
International Computer and Information Literacy Study
Frequency of data collection
Every 5 years
Previous cycles
2013
Schedule
ICILS 2018
  • 2015: framework revision and instrument development
  • 2016: establishment of testing platform and instruments
  • 2017: field trial
  • 2018: finalization of framework
  • 2018 (February–June): data collection (Northern Hemisphere)
  • 2018 (October–December): data collection (Southern Hemisphere)
  • 2019 (November): release of international reports

 

ICILS Teacher Panel 2020
  • 2020 (October): Adaptation of instruments, translations of additional items, setting up of online survey system (OSS)
  • 2020 (November) – 2021 (March):Data collection
  • 2021 (October): Release of international report
  • 2022 (November): Release of international database
Objectives
ICILS 2018
  • Assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond the basic use of ICT.
  • Ascertain student preparedness for study, work, and life in the digital age.
  • Measure international differences in students’ computer and information literacy (CIL), i.e., their ability to use computers to investigate, create, and communicate in order to participate effectively at home, at school, in the workplace, and in the community.
  • Measure international differences in students’ computational thinking (CT) achievement, i.e., their abilities to recognize and operationalize real-world problems using computational formulations on computers or other digital devices. This was offered to participating education systems as an international option.
  • Collect a rich array of data from students in the eighth grade in order to enable investigation of the factors that influence student CIL (and CT).
  • Provide education systems and policymakers with an important source of data on the contexts and outcomes of CIL- and CT-related abilities of students and how these relate to school and out-of-school contexts that support learning.

 

ICILS Teacher Panel 2020
  • Investigate changes in the use of ICT in schools before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Research questions
ICILS 2018

Computer and Information Literacy (CIL)

  • What variations exist across countries, and within countries, in students’ computer and information literacy?
  • What aspects of schools and countries are related to students’ computer and information literacy?
  • What are the relationships between students’ levels of access to, familiarity with, and self-reported proficiency in using computers and their computer and information literacy?
  • What aspects of students’ personal and social backgrounds (such as gender, and socioeconomic background) are related to students’ computer and information literacy?

Computational Thinking (CT)

  • What variations exist across countries and within countries, in students’ computational thinking?
  • What aspects of schools and countries are related to students’ computational thinking?
  • What are the relationships between students’ levels of access to, familiarity with, and self-reported proficiency in using computers and their computational thinking?
  • What aspects of students’ personal and social backgrounds (such as gender, and socioeconomic background) are related to students’ CT?
  • What is the association between students’ computer and information literacy and computational thinking?

 

ICILS Teacher Panel 2020
  • Have ICT‐related issues such as computer resources, attitudes towards technology, and the use of communication and information technology changed after the outbreak of COVID‐19?
  • Did social inequality in educational opportunity increase during the COVID‐19 pandemic?
  • How stable is the use of ICT‐related issues at the teacher level, and have international differences in the use of ICT increased or decreased over time?
Assessment domain(s)
ICILS 2018
  • Computer literacy
  • Information literacy
  • Computational thinking
 
ICILS Teacher Panel 2020

No (student) assessment

 

Study framework (summary)
Assessment frameworks - ICILS 2018

The computer and information literacy (CIL) and computational thinking (CT) frameworks are based on two structural elements:

  • Strands – the overarching conceptual categories used to frame the skills and knowledge addressed by the instruments.
  • Aspects – the specific content categories within a single strand.

 

CIL framework

Strand 1: Understanding computer use

  • Refers to the fundamental technical knowledge required for the operational use of computers as tools for dealing with information.
  • Has two aspects:
    • Foundations of computer use
    • Computer use conventions

Strand 2: Gathering information

  • Focused on receptive and organizational elements of information processing and management
  • Has two aspects:
    • Accessing and evaluating information
    • Managing information

Strand 3: Producing information

  • Focused on using computers as productive tools for thinking and creating.
  • Has two aspects:
    • Transforming information
    • Creating information 

Strand 4: Digital communication

  • Focused on competencies related to social networking and social, legal and ethical responsibilities associated with information sharing.  
  • Has two aspects:
    • Sharing information
    • Using information safely and securely

 

CT framework

Strand 1: Conceptualizing problems

  • Refers to the idea that before developing solutions, problems must be understood and framed in a way that allows algorithmic or systems thinking to assist in the process of developing solutions.
  • Has three aspects:
    • Knowing and understanding digital systems
    • Formulating and analyzing problems
    • Collecting and representing relevant data

Strand 2: Operationalizing solutions  

  • Was associated with creating, implementing, and evaluating computer-based system responses to real-world problems.
  • Has two aspects:
    • Planning and evaluating solutions
    • Developing algorithms, programs and interfaces

 

Contextual framework
ICILS 2018
  • The individual:
    • Characteristics of the learner
    • Processes of learning
    • Learner’s level of CIL/CT
  • Home environment related to a student’s background characteristics, especially in terms of the learning processes associated with:
    • Family
    • Home
    • Other immediate out-of-school contexts
  • Schools and classrooms encompassed all school-related factors (at both classroom and school level).
  • Wider community:
    • Local community contexts (e.g., remoteness, Internet access etc.)
    • Characteristics of the education system and country
    • Global context
ICILS Teacher Panel 2020 

The 2020 Teacher Panel is an extension of the ICILS 2018 teacher survey and therefore built upon the same framework.

However, while all items from the 2018 study were kept, several items were added to collect specific information on the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and on the respondent’s participation (or non-participation) in the ICILS 2018 study.

 

 

Participating entities
Numbers
  • ICILS 2018
    • CIL: 12 countries and two benchmarking participants
    • CT:  8 countries and one benchmarking participant
  • ICILS Teacher Panel 2020: 3 countries

 

Lists
  • ICILS 2018
    • CIL
      • Countries: Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea (hereafter referred to as Korea, for ease of reading), Luxembourg, Portugal, The United States of America, and Uruguay
      • Benchmarking participants: Moscow (Russian Federation), North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)
    • CT
      • Countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, Luxembourg, Portugal, and the United States
      • Benchmarking participant: North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)
  • ICILS Teacher Panel 2020Denmark, Finland, and Uruguay

 

Target population and sample (summary)
Target population

ICILS 2018

  • Students in their eighth year of schooling. In most education systems, the eighth year of schooling is Grade 8, provided that the average age of students are 13.5 years or above. In education systems where the average age in Grade 8 is below 13.5, Grade 9 is defined as the ICILS target population.
  • All teachers teaching regular school subjects to the students in the target grade at each school sampled.
  • Schools at which target grade students were enrolled.
  • ICILS also administered separate questionnaires to principals and designated ICT-coordinators in each school.

ICILS Teacher Panel 2020

  • The panel study did not survey students.
  • All teachers eligible for ICILS 2018 except those who left the profession.
  • All schools eligible for ICILS 2018 that were still operating in 2020.
  • The panel study also administered separate questionnaires to principals and designated ICT-coordinators in each school.

 

Sample

ICILS 2018

  • Students: more than 46,000
  • Teachers: more than 26,000
  • Schools: more than 2,200 

ICILS Teacher Panel 2020

Total in the 3 countries and participating in both study years (2018 and 2020):

  • Teachers: more than 2150
  • Schools: more than 260

 

Data collection techniques and instruments (summary)
ICILS 2018

Computer-based

  • Test of CIL and CT
  • Student questionnaire
  • National context survey (one per country, completed by staff in national centers)

 Online with paper-based option

  • Teacher questionnaire
  • School questionnaires (principal and ICT coordinator)

 

ICILS Teacher Panel 2020

Online instruments

  • Teacher questionnaire
  • School principal questionnaire
  • ICT coordinator questionnaire

 

Initiator
Study director(s)
Contact

IEA Amsterdam

Keizersgracht 311

1016 EE Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Tel. +31 20 625 3625

Fax +31 20 420 7136

E-mail secretariat@iea.nl

http://www.iea.nl

 

IEA Hamburg

Überseering 27

22297 Hamburg

Germany

Tel. +49 40 48500 500

Fax +49 40 48500 501

E-mail icils@iea-hamburg.de

http://www.iea.nl

 

Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

19 Prospect Hill Rd Camberwell

VIC 3124 Australia

Tel. +61 3 9255 5555

Fax +61 3 9255 5500

E-mail icils@acer.edu.au