AI Insight
This study analyzed data from 42 countries participating in PISA 2022 to examine how different patterns of information and communication technology (ICT) use relate to creative thinking skills among adolescents. Four distinct profiles of ICT users were identified, with students showing below-average use scoring highest on creative thinking, followed by above-average users, while students with very low or very high use scored lowest. The specific dimensions of ICT use (such as school activities outside classroom, weekday leisure use, and ICT-based feedback) were better predictors of creative thinking than overall usage profiles, suggesting the relationship is not simply linear.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that moderate ICT use may be optimal for creative thinking development, and that the type of digital activity matters more than the amount of use. This has important implications for educators and policymakers designing technology integration strategies in schools, indicating that simply increasing or decreasing screen time may be less effective than focusing on how technology is used.
Understand the Science
Research on information and communication technology (ICT) use and educational outcomes has reported positive, negative, and null associations, and little is known about creative thinking, which Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessed for the first time in 2022. This study examined how profiles of ICT use relate to creative thinking and whether profile membership predicts creative thinking beyond the dimensions of use from which the profiles are derived. Using data from a large international sample of PISA 2022 students, latent profile analysis of the six Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) dimensions of ICT use identified four profiles that differed mainly in the overall level of use. Creative thinking was compared across profiles using all plausible values, replicate weights and a bias-adjusted three-step approach, and random forest models compared the predictive value of the profiles and the dimensions. Students with below-average use scored highest, followed by those with above-average use, whereas students with very low and very high use scored lowest. The low scores at the two ends had different correlates: adjustment for socioeconomic status and gender substantially reduced the gap for very low use but left the gap for very high use almost unchanged. In the random forest models, the six dimensions predicted creative thinking better than profile membership did. Partial dependence plots showed higher predicted scores with more school activities outside the classroom and lower predicted scores with high weekday leisure use and more support or feedback via ICT. The findings suggest that the association between ICT use and creative thinking is not linear, and that profiles based on the level of use are useful for describing groups of students but carry less information than the dimensions of use.
Source: Adolescent ICT use profiles and creative thinking: evidence from 42 countries in PISA 2022