Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Computers have been a big help for students in every aspect of their learning. The

advancement of computer technology in today’s society has helped students to access much

more information than ever before and complete tasks faster and easier. Computer also

grants an access to the internet wherein it hosts academic researches and offers educational

support. In order to benefit from the advantages of computer, one must possess computer

literacy. If a person is computer literate, he/she can use computers and other related

technologies efficiently. However, not all students possess computer literacy. Without such

knowledge, students would find it difficult to figure out any system problems or learn to

adapt quickly to new system or software. This is the reason why some students lack

confidence and feel uncomfortable when using computers. A student who experienced

computer anxiety has a fear to have a negative outcome such as damaging the computer or

looking crazy (Howard, 1986). They are likely to to do more poorly on computer related

tasks. For instance, it has been observed that students in the United States from

“technophobia” and have been implicated that their fear in handling a computer affected

their academic performance negatively (McIlroy et al., 2001).

Although some students are enthusiastic about computers and express a desire to

become proficient with it, others may be apprehensive and reluctant. There are still

indications that Filipino college students felt confused and experience loss of personal

control when they encounter such technology like computer use. (Javier, 2017)
 However, in the local setting, specifically in UM Tagum College, the researchers

have observed that some ICT students in UMTC also feel anxious for not being familiar

with the basic operations of a computer. For example, some are uneasy and distressed when

turning on the computers within the computer laboratory just by themselves, especially

when the STAs are not yet around. Because of this, students who feel fearfulness using

computers also feel embarrassed. This resulted to many difficulties in their computer

programming classes. These problems prompted us to conduct this research in order to

know the cause of computer anxiety and its effect on the computer literacy of a student.

Research Objective

This study was conducted to determine the influence of computer literacy and

computer anxiety of the Senior High school ICT students of UM Tagum College.

Specifically, the study was conducted to sought answers to the following objectives:

1. To assess the level of computer literacy of the Senior High school ICT

students of UM Tagum College in terms of:

1.1 word processing skills; and

1.2 basic operation skills

2. To find out the level of computer anxiety of the Senior High school ICT

students of UM Tagum College in terms of:

2.1 computer experience; and

2.2 socio-economic background

 3. To determine the significant relationship between the level of computer

literacy and computer anxiety of the Senior High school ICT students of

UM Tagum College.

Hypothesis

The hypotheses of the study were tested at 0.05 level of significance stating that

there is no significant relationship between computer literacy and computer anxiety of the

Senior High school ICT students of UM Tagum College.

Review of Related Literature

The concepts, facts, information, views and readings related to computer literacy

and computer anxiety are presented in this section.

Computer Literacy

In the last 20 years, due to the deep impact of computer technology on one’s life,

the issue of computer literacy has been broadly discussed and programs geared toward

improving computer literacy have been implemented in schools at various levels. Although

the definition of computer literacy is varied and broad, it can be summarized as the basic

knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward computers that enables one to confidently deal with

computer technology in their daily life (McInerney & Marsh, 1997). This definition of

computer literacy includes the following three elements: first, basic knowledge and skills

of computer technology; second, positive attitudes toward computer technology; and third,

confidence of using computer technology with low anxiety. To effectively evaluate

computer literacy, level of computer knowledge and skills, computer attitude, and
computer anxiety should be assessed. Consequently, the goal of computer literacy

education should be helping students improve their computer knowledge and skills,

develop positive attitudes toward computers, and decrease their anxiety toward using and

learning computers.

Prior research about students’ computer achievement, attitude, and anxiety were

mostly focused on two areas. One was to investigate the variables that influence computer

achievement (Comber, Colley, Hargreaves, & Dorn, 1997). It showed that gender,

computer ownership, and prior computer experience often impacted students’ achievement

and attitudes in learning computers. The other research area concerned the relationships

among students’ computer achievement, attitude, and anxiety. In general, it was reported

that students with more positive attitudes and less anxiety toward using or learning

computers tended to achieve higher in computer courses (Marcoulides, 1988; McInerney

et al., 1994). The above discussion revealed that individual differences existed among

students when they learned about computers (Houle, 1996). Since little can be done about

such personal characteristics as gender and computer ownerships directly (Schmeck,

1988), teachers and schools need to know about and understand approaches or factors that

can be used in schools to facilitate computer literacy among the students. The model of

strategic learning proposed by Weinstein (1994) may provide a model by which computer

literacy in schools can be achieved.

The main idea of the model of strategic learning (Weinstein, 1994) is to teach

students not only what to learn but also how to learn in school settings. According to this

model, skill, will, and self-regulation are three components that can be enhanced in schools

to help students learn (Weinstein & McComb, 1998). Teaching students how to learn has
been shown to be effective in reducing the information processing demands of learning

tasks (Tobias, 1986), in enhancing students’ performance and retention (Weinstein &

McComb, 1998), and in decreasing anxiety for highly anxious individuals (Naveh-

Benjamin, 1991). Much research has been conducted to explore specific learning strategies

corresponding to particular learning subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, and

science learning (King, 1994; Pressley & Woloshyn, 1995; Rosenshine, Meister, &

Chapman, 1996; Strchart, Mangrum Ii, & Iannuzze, 1997; Tsai, Lin, & Yuan, (2001). The

findings from the research suggest that strategic learning, especially when domain-specific

learning strategies are emphasized, is generally effective to improve students’ learning in

all subject areas.

Computer science is a relatively new subject, even for young students.

Contemporary computer literacy research does not provide much evidence related to

learning strategies. The study completed by McInerney, McInerney, and Marsh (1997)

could be viewed as one of the beginning attempts about this. They investigated how self-

questioning, an approach of strategic learning, affected 31 college students’ computer

achievement and computer anxiety. In their study, stem questions were used to model and

practice self-questioning in order to train students’ learning strategies. They concluded that

the training of self-questioning significantly enhanced students’ computer achievement;

however, the initially high-anxious learners continued to have high levels of computer

anxiety even after the training. This may suggest that self-questioning is not enough for

improving students’ computer learning outcomes as well as reducing students’ computer

anxiety. In other words, self-questioning is just one of several learning strategies that can

improve student learning (King, 1994; Weinstein & Mayer, 1986; Weinstein, Meyer, &
Stone, 1994). There may be some other learning strategies specifically related to computer

learning. When computer science becomes a subject to learn, educators and even students

need to be clear about the specific learning strategies for learning computers effectively

and confidently.

In Weinstein and Palmer’s (1990) view, the following 10 categories can be used to

understand and assess the learning strategies of students: First, Attitude means examining

students’ attitude and interest in education and school. Second is Motivation, which

indicates students’ willingness to work hard and keep up with their assignments. The Third

one is Time Management that assesses the students’ use of time management principles for

academic work. Fourth is Anxiety, which measures the degree to which students worry

about school and their performance. The Fifth one is Concentration that indicates the

students’ ability to pay close attention to academic tasks. The Sixth strategy is Information

processing, which assesses students’ abilities to use mental imagery, verbal elaboration,

comprehension monitoring, and reasoning. Seventh, Selecting Main Ideas which indicates

the student’s ability to identify important information for further study. Eighth, Study Aids

that measures the degree to which students create or use support techniques or materials to

help them learn and remember new information. Ninth, Self-testing which assesses the

students’ ability to review and prepare for classes by comprehension monitoring. Lastly,

the Tenth Strategy is Test Strategies, which indicates the students’ approaches to preparing

for and taking quizzes and tests.

The 10 categories are general learning strategies for all learning domains. In order

to encourage computer literacy among children and youth, school teachers and curriculum

developers need to know which learning strategies are specifically useful for learning
computer science and know how to integrate these strategies into their curriculum

(Weinstein et al., 1994). Therefore, identifying the learning strategies specifically useful

for computer science learning domain should be the first step to enhance student computer

literacy.

This study, through gathering research data from a group of eighth graders,

attempted to identify computer specific learning strategies by exploring what were the

learning strategies (among those proposed by Weinstein and Palmer, 1990) that were most

correlated with the three computer literacy elements. And it also investigated which

learning strategies could best predict students’ learning in computer. A better

understanding between learning strategies and computer literacy may help computer

educators develop strategy-embedded curriculum (Weinstein et al., 1994). There may exist

much research related to traditional learning domains like reading and mathematics;

however, when computer science becomes a school subject and not much research has been

conducted in this area, this study can be viewed as one of initial attempts to further explore

the possible interplay between learning strategies and computer literacy.

Computer Anxiety

Computer anxiety refers to negative emotions and cognitions evoked in actual or

imaginary interaction with computer-based technology. It has the nature of a trait that

predisposes towards the state of psychological distress in situations that involve encounters

with computers (Deane, Henderson, Barrelle, Saliba, & Mahar, 1995; Maurer & Simonson,

1984). Behavioral manifestations of computer anxiety include:

 (1) avoidance of computers and the general areas where computers are located; (2)

excessive caution with computers; (3) negative remarks about computers; and (4) attempts

to cut short the necessary use of computers (Maurer & Simonson, 1984). Its existence has

been demonstrated across diametrically different cultures (e.g. Marcoulides & Wang,

1990). Computer anxiety has been predominantly assessed with self-report scales utilizing

Likert-type formats (e.g. Heinssen, Glass, & Knight, 1987; Raub, 1981; Rosen, Sears, &

Weil, 1987).

Computer anxiety affects utilization of computer-based technology and

performance on tasks that involve use of computers (e.g. Heinssen et al., 1987; Mahar,

Henderson, & Deane, 1997; Rosen & Weil, 1995). For this reason, computer anxiety incurs

serious economic costs (Mahar et al., 1997); estimated at the level of multiple billion

dollars per year (Edler, Gardner, & Ruth, 1987; Gardner, Young, & Ruth, 1989).

Furthermore, computer anxiety is systematically associated with psychological well-being

(e.g. Deane et al., 1995; Heinssen et al., 1987; Hudiburg, 1990; Rosen, Sears, & Weil,

1993; and Bozionelos, 2001, for an integration). The penetration of computer-based

technology into most domains of life accounts for the effects of computer anxiety.

Considering the important implications of computer anxiety for the economy and

the quality of life, two issues are of particular interest: (1) correlates of computer anxiety

and the nature of relationships; and (2) prevalence rates of computer anxiety. Research on

consistent correlates and patterns of relationships is important for insight into causes and,

therefore, treatment. Prevalence estimations are essential for predictions about the presence

of the phenomenon in the future, so necessary action can be planned.

 The purpose of the present research was two-fold: (1) to compare logarithmic

values with raw values of computer experience scores in predicting scores on computer

anxiety; and (2) to investigate differences in computer anxiety and prevalence rates

between samples that represented different cohorts in terms of early exposure to

computerization.

With the advent of the computer technologies, we are increasingly encountering

these technologies in every field of life. The fact that the computer technology is so much

interwoven with the daily life makes it necessary to investigate certain psychological

attitudes of those working with computers towards computers. One of these psychological

attitudes is computer anxiety. Howard and Smith (1986) define the computer anxiety as

“the tendency of a person to experience a level of uneasiness over his or her impending use

of a computer”. According to another definition, computer anxiety is a behavior of avoiding

interaction with the information processors (Weinberg, 1983). According to Cambre and

Cook (1985), computer anxiety is a result of forcing to social change emerging from the

rapid nature of the new technology.

In the relevant literature, the anxiety is mentioned together with such behaviors as

keeping off computers, abstaining from computers and computer phobias. The computer

anxiety is classified as a special kind of anxiety, and such various types of it as sense of

frustration, possibility of shame, disappointment and experiencing fear of obscurity are

mentioned (Orr, 2009). Moreover, such findings as that the computer anxiety leads to

decrease in success and in effort for success (Phelps and Ellis, 2009) seem to have been

obtained. Keen (1998) mentions the existence of a social dimension for the computer

anxiety, and states that such expressions during learning as “you cannot do it”, “you cannot
be successful” are effective on the computer anxiety. Saade and Kira (2009) emphasize that

feelings like disappointment, frustration, worry, etc. will affect not only the interaction with

computers but also productivity, learning social relations and individual welfare in general.

In addition, Çakıroğlu (2009) dwells on the computer anxiety in terms of human

physiology, and claims that the computer anxiety has some symptoms like sweating,

dampening of hands, stomachache, difficulty in breathing or feeling of suffocation,

palpitation and strain of lips. Other than the computer anxiety, frustration, regret,

disappointment and feeling of panic are said to be other affective hinders that computer

instructors encounter (Burkett, Compton and Burkett, 2001). The studies done by the

following names can be given as examples for computer anxiety Gordon (1995), Burkett

(1993), Tobias (1979), Bohlin (1999), Agbatogun (2010), Mahar, Henderson and Deane

(1997), Sam, Othman and Nordin (2005), Beckers, Wicherts and Schmidt (2007),

Maloumiyan, Akbari and Rastegar (2011) and Olatoye (2009).

All of the above-mentioned research findings clearly show that the computer

anxiety should be considered in learning activities conducted with computers. In this study,

the computer anxiety was dealt with in terms of the students of Vocational school. Thus,

the general aim of the study is said to be the investigation of the Vocational school students’

computer anxiety. In accordance with this aim, the Vocational school students’ opinions

about the computer anxiety were compared in terms of such variables as gender, type of

education received, grade, experience of computer education and having a computer.

Computers have made a dramatic impact on the contemporary society. Almost

all aspects of our lives are affected by computers to a significant degree. It is even

difficult to imagine a job or a task that we can complete without using computers. Of
course, the field of education is no exception. Computers are used increasingly in

teaching and learning processes within all subject areas at all levels of schooling.

Although some students are enthusiastic about computers, others may be

apprehensive or reluctant (Arani, 2001; Doyle, Stamouli, & Huggard, 2005). However,

whether they feel comfortable or anxious regarding the role and use of computers in

their lives, all students must be familiar with and even competent in using computers

because this technology dominates all avenues of our societal as well as personal life.

However, getting such a competence may not be easy for many reasons.

It is predicted that the more people use computers in their daily lives, the higher

number of people will face difficulties with computers (Beckers & Schmidt, 2001).

Among other factors, computer anxiety may be a serious barrier against learning how to

use computers effectively. On the other hand, although it has been studied for a long

period of time, there is no clear-cut consensus regarding the definition and full scope of

computer anxiety.

Maurer (1994) defined computer anxiety as the fear and apprehension felt by an

individual when considering the utilization of computer technology or when actually

using it. Chua, Chen, and Wong (1999) also defined computer anxiety as a fear of

computers when using one or fearing the possibility of using it when needed. According

to these definitions, computer anxiety is characterized as an affective (to some extent

emotional) response. It is different from negative attitudes toward computers that entail

personal beliefs and feelings about computers rather than one’s emotional reaction

towards using computers (Sam, Othman, & Nordin, 2005).

 Computer anxiety has been conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct.

According to Torkzadeh and Angulo (1992), there are three major dimensions of

computer anxiety as psychological, operational, and sociological. To be more concrete,

psychological dimension includes attitudes toward computers, self-efficacy, personality

types, avoidance, and self-perceptions. Operational dimension usually results from

computer courses, teachers, nature of computers, the extent of experiences with the

computer, and owning a personal computer. Sociological dimension is related to factors

of age, gender, nationality, socio-economic status, and the field of study.

Beckers and Schmidt (2001) suggest a six-factor computer anxiety model. The

dimensions of this model are: (a) computer literacy of basic computer skills, (b) self-

efficacy on learning how to use computers, (c) physical awareness while using

computers such as breathing or sweating, (d) attitudes toward computers, (e) positive

belief regarding the benefits of computers to society, and (f) negative beliefs on effects

of computers.

Most of the research findings are mixed regarding the role of these factors on

computer anxiety. However, research tends to support that more experiences with

computers reduce the level of anxiety. This is particularly true when students start using

computers at early ages, own a personal computer at home, use computers more

frequently in daily life, and their academic major is a technical one (Chou, 2003;

Gordon, Killey, Shevlin, McIlroy, & Tierney, 2003; Weil & Rosen, 1995).

Researchers have proposed that lower computer anxiety and higher computer

self-efficacy may be important factors in learning computer skills and employing them

efficiently. On the other hand, some students may feel confused or even lost when they
encounter computers as a result of negative perceptions of their own personal

capabilities. This phenomenon, which is two-faceted with both negative and positive

ends, is directly related to the concept of self-efficacy.

Kinzie, Delcourt, and Powers (1994) defined self-efficacy as an individual’s

confidence in his/her ability to perform a task for producing specific outcome, which

may impact personal engagement, effort, and persistence. Within this context, computer

self-efficacy is a specific type of self-efficacy referring to a belief of one’s capability to

use the computer (Compeau & Higgins, 1995).

The amount of mental efforts that students make for acquiring computer skills or

performing computer-related tasks may interact with their perceived self-efficacy in the

computing field (Karsten & Roth, 1998). If they think that they know enough or they

can learn how to use computers easily, their anxiety may be low; alternatively, when

they know little or think that it is difficult to learn/use computers, they may be more

anxious (Konerding, 2007; Sam, Othman, Nordin, 2005).

Webster and Martocchio (1992) demonstrated that computer self-efficacy has

been positively related to performance during computer training. Zhang and Espinoza

(1998), on the other hand, found that the less confident a student feels about computer

skills, the more he/she desires to learn about computer technology. Harrington,

McElroy, and Morrow (1990) supported that a high level of computer anxiety has been

negatively related to learning computer skills. Torkzadeh and Angula (1992) suggested

that students with higher level of computer anxiety exhibited more resistance to the use

of computers.
 There are also studies reporting that males on average have better computer self-

efficacy and greater computer anxiety than females (McIlroy, Bunting, Tierney, &

Gordon, 2001; Torkzadeh & Koufteros, 1994). Several studies have even investigated

female students’ choice of courses and careers, and self-efficacy turned out to be a

crucial predictor: Females had significantly lower self-efficacy than males in math

related areas including computer science (Hackett, 1985). However, controlling for

computer experience, males and females had similar interest toward computers

(Badagliacco, 1990).

Correlation Between Measures

There is a significant relationship between two variables in which the computer

literacy relatively influences the anxiety in computer of ICT students. Computer literacy

affects the thoughts, feelings and actions of the ICT students having computer anxiety. A

computer literate person will have a positive thoughts, feelings and actions towards

computer and have less computer anxiety (Houtz & Gupta, 2001).

Different student computer competency levels impact students’ perception of

Enjoyment Level and Difficulty Level in using a computer. Students feel web-based

courses are easier if they have enough computer background. It is notable that a significant

relationship between learning style and enjoyment level was found in previous studies

(Simpson & Du, 2004).

Computer has become an imperative instrument in every organization, particularly

in today's era of globalization. However, previous studies indicated that employee still

facing problem using the computer due to the rapid changes in computer application.
Hence, this article purported to expose the association of computer anxiety and computer

self-efficacy. From the findings it was found that that there is a weak relationship between

computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy among employees. Therefore, it can be

reasoned from the findings, the anxious feelings operating computer in the system had

slightly affected employees’ self-efficacy (University of Technology MARA, 2015).

The forgoing presentation and discussion of various literatures had helped bring

into focus the effect of computer literacy level to the computer anxiety of a student. The

literature presented had also helped the researchers realized that the computer literacy has

a great influence on the computer anxiety of the ICT students in UM Tagum College.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on the proposition of Shashaam (1997) which stated that

years of computer use and level of computer confidence are positively correlated with

positive computer attitudes. Having more experience in using computer can make a

person’s computer level of confidence higher and is more positive in using a computer. If

a person has less experience in using a computer, his / her confidence level in handling

computer is lower with negative computer attitudes.

This study is supported by the proposition of Houtz & Gupta (2001) who

mentioned that using computers more frequently and developing a variety of computer

related skills and technique increases one's knowledge of the computer as a whole. This

widens one's learning and potential that in turn promotes a positive feeling towards the

computer. A person using computer regularly will increase their knowledge in computer

and are more likely to feel positive in using a computer.

On the other hand, if a person uses a computer occasionally, he / she will have a difficulty

on obtaining knowledge and will result to negative feeling towards computer.

Conceptual Framework

Presented in Figure 1 is the conceptual framework of the study. The independent

variable of this study is the computer literacy of Senior High school ICT students with the

following indicators: basic computer skills which refers to the basic understanding of what

computer is and how to use its basic operations efficiently (Hindi, Miller, & Wegner, 2010)

and word-processing skills which refers to the conceptual knowledge related to skills

necessary to perform tasks in word-processing (Hindi, Miller, & Wegner, 2014).

The dependent variable is the computer anxiety of Senior High school ICT students

with the following indicators: computer experience which has a negative relationship with

an individual’s computer anxiety and socio-economic background which shows that

individuals who are social-economically privileged are more likely to have a computer

available at home which results to better computer skills (Chien, 2008)

 Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Computer Computer
Literacy Anxiety

 Basic  Compu
Opera ter
tion Experie

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of the Study

Significance of the Study

This study contains the knowledge, skills, and behavior showing the effective result

of being a computer literate person because computer strand or courses like Information
Communication Technology (ICT) particularly on Senior High School is ubiquitous, so the

researcher of this study stand to reason that more importance have been placed on computer

literacy. In this study the researcher of this study, knowledgeably verified the correlation

between students’ level of Computer Literacy and their performance during laboratories or

tasks, and because being computer literate makes it easy for the students to access

computers. In addition, various professional educational organizations attempted to

establish future computer literacy both for students and for teachers, because teachers’

attitudes towards computer technology may be a significant factor in the use of computer

in education.

The results of the study will be of great benefit to the students because it will

provide them with some knowledge on computer anxiety and how to avoid. It will give the

students a realization that anxiety is not useful to both the students and the people around

him. At the end of this study, students would finally know why anxieties have been a major

problem to the society.

The given data would guide the teachers on what to do with the students who feel

down. Therefore, the teacher would be able to understand on why some students think that

they are too dull in running a program and later on, help them. Like the teachers, the parents

too will understand why their children feel anxieties through the given data. The given data

would help them to formulate some preventive measures to help their sons from the

anxiousness. The findings would also help them learn the action of their children.

The findings of this study may help the students of UM Tagum College who took

courses or strand accessing computer know the relationship between Computer Literacy

and Computer Anxiety. It may provide information about the effects of having such anxiety
to the students. Also, the outcome of this study may also serve as the basis of the teachers

who teaches courses or strand that necessarily access different technologies,

It may help in indicating the factors and effects of not having such knowledge about

computer which may lead to computer anxiety. It may let the teachers know that they need

widen their understanding because there are really such students who doesn't have enough

background about using computer.

Furthermore, the result of this study would really help the students since it is

conducted to evaluate the effects of not having such enough knowledge about computer.

Students would improve themselves in using such technologies in order to avoid having

such anxiety. The students would also improve academically on their fields taken. The

given data would also guide the teachers on what to do with the students who feel down.

Therefore, the teacher would be able to understand on why some students think that they

are too dull in running a program and later on, help them. And finally, this study will help

the future researchers who will also have a common interest about this study to have a

starting point and widen the coverage about this study.

Definition of Terms

In order for the reader to have a better understanding on the terminologies used in

this study, the following terms are defined operationally.

Computer Literacy. This term is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers

and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from elementary

use to programming and advanced problem solving.

Computer Anxiety. This refers to the “fear” of impending interaction with a computer

that is disproportionate to the actual threat presented by the computer (Howard, 1986).

It is also considered as an affective response which explained that the feelings of anxiety

may be mediated by beliefs about lack of ability to use a computer knotted to a lack of

mathematical and mechanical skills users avoid computers because of its phobic condition

that is repelled to change which resulted avoidance towards computer usage (Maimunah,

Roshidi & Roslani, 2011).

Chapter 2

METHOD
 This chapter discusses the research methods available for the study and what is

applicable for it to use in response for the statement of the problem in Chapter 1. This

chapter also presents the various procedures and strategies in identifying sources for

needed information on the analysis and evaluation of the computer anxiety of Senior High

school ICT students.

Research Design

This study used Quantitative Non-Experimental Method as a research design. This

method involves variables that are not manipulated by the researcher and instead are

studied as they exist. One reason for using non-experimental research is that many

variables of interest in social science cannot be manipulated because they are attribute

variables, such as gender, socioeconomic status, learning style, or any other personal

characteristic or trait. This research also uses descriptive and correlational approach

because it identifies behaviors and describes the behavior and the participants and it

determines whether a relationship or association exists between computer literacy and

computer anxiety. It is appropriate to use this approach because it also predicts the level of

one variable based on knowledge of the other variable. And since this is a quantitative

research, the researchers will be using questionnaires in order to gather the needed data

from Senior High School ICT students of UM Tagum College.

Research Locale

This study is concretely effective to the forenamed situation, generically to

secondary level students of UM Tagum College, Tagum City, Davao del Norte. The
accumulated information and samples were considered as the restriction in considering the

general utilization of the findings.

Knowing that this study is very comprehensive, there are other implemented study

but conceivably don’t have the same applicability with this study. Giving emphasis on

Figure 2 is the map of the Philippines with its different regions showed, wherein it is

composed of overall 17 regions in which the city of Tagum, province of Davao del Norte

is located in Region XI. Also, showed in Figure 2 is the vicinity map of the respondents in

which secondary level students of UM Tagum College is located in the City of Tagum.

Reg
 Figure 2. Map of the Philippines Highlighting Davao del Norte

Population and Sample

The researchers used Purposive Complete Enumeration in the selection of the

respondents because of the limited number of the total population of the possible

respondents. The total population of Senior High School ICT students is 76. Shown in

Table 1 are the number of respondents in Grade 11 and Grade 12 ICT students of University

of Mindanao Tagum College for the school year 2018-2019.

Distribution of Respondents

Grade & Section Number of Respondents

Grade 11 34
 Grade 12 42

TOTAL 78

This study did not use Slovin’s Formula since there is no need to calculate the

sample size and population size because there are already a fixed number of respondents.

All the students of ICT, except for the researchers, were considered as the respondents due

to having only 2 sections of ICT in UMTC. The distribution of the respondents shown in

Table 1 was as follows: 36 students from Grade 11-ICT and 42 students from Grade 12-

ICT. The total number of ICT students involved in the study is 76.

Research Instrument

The instrument used in the study is an adopted and modified questionnaire of

Romeo Fatima. The first set of the questionnaire deals with the computer literacy level of

the ICT students in UM Tagum College. It was composed of two indicators: Basic

Operation Skills and Word-processing skills. The contents of instruments will be presented

to the research advisers.

In evaluating the level of computer literacy of the ICT students, the five orderable

gradations with their respective range of means and description were considered.

Range of Means Descriptive Equivalent Interpretation

This means that the level of computer literacy

4.30 – 5.00 Very High
of the ICT students was very much high.
 This means that the level of computer literacy
3.50 – 4.20 High
of the ICT students was high.

This means that the level of computer literacy

2.70 – 3.40 Moderate
of the ICT students was moderately high.

This means computer literacy of the ICT

1.90 – 2.60 Low
students was low.

This means that computer literacy of the ICT

1.00 – 1.80 Very Low
students was very much low.

The second set of the instrument, which was adopted from G. Knezek, embarks

with the level of computer anxiety of the students. It was composed of two (2) indicators

such as Computer Experience and Socio-Economic Background. For the level of computer

anxiety, the following five orderable gradations with their respective range of means and

descriptions were considered.

Range of Means Descriptive Equivalent Interpretation

This means that the level of computer anxiety

4.30 – 5.00 Very High
of the students was very much high.
 This means that the level of computer anxiety
3.50 – 4.20 High
of the students was high.

This means that the level of computer anxiety

2.70 – 3.40 Moderate
of the students was moderately high.

This means that the level of computer anxiety

1.90 – 2.60 Low
of the students was low.

This means that the level of computer anxiety

1.00 – 1.80 Very Low
of the students was very much low.

Data collection

After the approval of the panel members, the researchers of this study have

undergone the following steps and procedures in gathering data for the study. The
researchers of this study asked for permission from the office of the Principal of the UMTC

SHS Department to conduct a study to the Senior High school ICT students and distribute

survey questionnaires and clarify the research tool and its purpose. Thereafter the approval,

the letter of endorsement was sought to accommodate the researcher of administer the

survey questionnaire to the respondents of the study. Furthermore, the researchers retrieved

the survey questionnaires after the respondents have answered all the items. Finally, they

tallied and tabulated all the data gathered from the respondents, subject to statistical

analysis. The statistical result was analyzed and interpreted. With the data, conclusions

have been drawn and recommendations have been formulated based on the findings of the

study.

Statistical Tools

The statistical tools that were used for data analysis and interpretations are the following:

Mean. This statistical tool was used to determine the level of computer literacy and

computer anxiety of ICT students.

Pearson (r). This statistical tool was employed to determine the significance on the

relationship between computer literacy and computer anxiety.

Chapter 3

RESULTS
 Presented in this chapter are the data and the results of the study. Tables are arranged

in the following subheadings: Level of Computer Literacy, Level of Computer Anxiety,

Significance on the Relationship between Levels of Computer Literacy and Computer

Anxiety of Senior High School ICT students.

Level of Computer Literacy of Senior High School ICT Students in UM Tagum

College

Shown in Table 1 are the mean scores for the indicators of Computer Literacy with

an overall mean of 4.74 describe as very high with a standard deviation of 0.411. The very

much high level could be attributed to the high rating given by the respondents in all

indicators. This means that the respondents’ response to their level of computer literacy are

very much high in majority of the cases in the items of basic operations and word

processing skills.

The cited overall mean score was the result gathered from the following computed

mean scores from highest to lowest: 4.75 or high for the word-processing skills with a

standard deviation of 0.586 and 4.74 or high for basic operations with a standard deviation

of 0.364.
Table 1. Level of Computer Literacy

Indicator Mean SD Descriptive Level

Basic Operations 4.74 0.364 Very High

Word-Processing
4.75 0.586 Very High
Skills

Overall 4.74 0.411 Very High

The indicator with the highest mean in computer literacy that was positive among

Senior High School ICT students in UM Tagum College is Word-Processing Skills, which

its main objective is to assess the level of literacy of a student in terms of using Microsoft
Products. Moreover, this would result to having an enthusiasm when working with

computers. Consequently, having a high level of knowledge in Microsoft products will

have a harmonious work for students in using it that would finally result in a positive

attitude in using a computer.

With regards to Basic Computer Operations that is also positive among Senior High

School ICT students in UM Tagum College, the respondents display a favorable response

on having an enough knowledge on basic computer operations. Moreover, this would result

in being independent with working with computers. Consequently, having this basic

knowledge in computer operations will make students to be much confident in using a

computer without difficulties.

Level of Computer Anxiety of Senior High School ICT Students in UM Tagum

College

Shown in Table 2 are the mean scores for the indicators of Computer Anxiety of ICT

students in UM Tagum College with an overall mean of 3.04 described as moderately high

with a standard deviation of 0.935. The low level could be attributed to the moderately high

rating given by the respondents in all indicators. This means that the respondents’ response

to having a computer anxiety were negative in majority of the cases in the items of

computer experience and social economic background.

The cited overall mean score was the result gathered from the following computed

mean scores from highest to lowest: 3.10 or high for social economic background with a

standard deviation of 1.022; and 2.99 or high for the computer experience with a standard

deviation of 0.962.
Table 2. Level of Computer Anxiety of Senior High School ICT Students in UM Tagum

College

Indicator Mean SD Descriptive Level

Computer Experience 2.99 0.962 Moderate

Social-Economic Background 3.10 1.022 Moderate

Overall 3.04 0.935 Moderate

The indicator of computer anxiety that is moderately high among Senior High School

ICT Students in UM Tagum College is on Social Economic Background, being the

indicator with the highest mean, which principal goal is to know whether being capable of

providing own computer will be a help to not experience having an anxiety in using
computers. Moreover, possessing a computer of your own will let students to explore and

gain new knowledge in computer.

With regards to Computer Experience that is moderately high among Senior High

School ICT students in UM Tagum College. This signifies that having a background in

computer is optionally needed. Moreover, being able to use computer frequently will help

students to be more confident in using a computer.

Significance on the Relationship between Computer Literacy and Computer Anxiety

One important purpose of this study is to determine whether or not the computer

literacy have significant relationship with computer anxiety of Senior High School ICT

Students in UM Tagum College. Pearson r was used to determine the correlation between

the two variables. Results of the computations are shown in Table 3.

The results revealed that computer literacy versus computer anxiety yields an

r - value of -0.2997 which is significant. The result is due to the p – value of 0.01 which is

lower than 0.05 level of significance. This lead to the decision that the null hypothesis

which stated that there is no significant relationship between computer literacy and

computer anxiety is rejected.

This further means that there is a relationship between two variables correlated

however, the relationship is negatively weak. On the basis of researches done on the

relationship between computer literacy and computer anxiety, it has been evident that

computer literacy has an effect to the computer anxiety of a student. Therefore, the result

of the correlation exemplifies that when the computer literacy as observed by the Senior

High School ICT students is high the anxiety in computer is observed as low.
Table 3. Significance on the Relationship between Levels of Computer Literacy and

Computer Anxiety of Senior High School ICT Students in UM Tagum College

 Variables Mean SD r - value p-value

Computer Literacy 4.74 0.411 -0.2997* 0.1

Computer Anxiety 3.04 0.935

*Significant at 0.05 significance level

Chapter 4

DISCUSSION

The data on computer literacy and computer anxiety of Senior High School ICT

students of UMTC are presented in this chapter and said discussions are based on the

findings appeared in the previous section.

Level of Computer Literacy of Senior High School ICT students

The respondents’ level on the computer literacy is very high. This means that the

different indicators of computer literacy were positive in Senior High School ICT Students.

This further means that the students are computer literate seeing that they possess word

processing skills and basic computer operation skills, since they are able to perform tasks

such as starting a computer, using software applications, troubleshooting common

technology problems, starting a new document, etc.

This result is in relation to the theory of Rochester, (1991) who viewed that

Computer Literacy, in general, is being knowledgeable about the computer and its

applications. Without such knowledge, a user would find it difficult to figure out any

system problems, or to learn to adopt quickly to new system or software. This confirms the

theory of Goodhue & Thompson, (1995) that Computer Literacy has an impact to a

student’s performance. If a student is considered to be highly computer literate because he

or she demonstrated a high level of proficiency in using a word processor or spreadsheet

program, it would also be expected for the student to perform well on task involving the

use of a word processor or a spreadsheet program.

In terms of word processing skills, the level of computer literacy of Senior High

School ICT students is very high. This indicates that the word processing skills of student

was positive. This connotes that ICT students are competent to process raw facts into

meaningful information. This would benefit them to create new innovative methods of

learning and help students transmit educational materials and practice systematically in

school with higher quality. The viewpoint of Bernhardt, Wojahn and Edwards (1998) is
seemingly congruent to this study. They revealed that possessing word processing skills

has a positive effect on students’ learning and writing.

With regards to the second indicator which is basic operation skills, the level was

also very high. This signifies that basic operation skills of the Senior High School ICT

students is positive. This means that the students are knowledgeable in performing the basic

operations of a computer such as logging on and off a computer, identifying parts of a

computer and installing and using application. This is in line with the view of Hindi, Miller

and Wegner (2010) that computer literacy is considered as having a basic understanding of

what a computer is and what is it functionality and operations.

Level of Computer Anxiety of Senior High School ICT students

The respondents’ responses on their level of computer anxiety appears on a

moderate level. This means that the different indicators of computer anxiety were positive

in some of the Senior High School ICT Students. This further means that the level of

computer anxiety of Senior High School ICT students is moderately high because of their

negative remarks about computers and attempts to cut short the necessary use of computers.

A moderate level of computer anxiety in terms of computer experience was also

evident among the respondents denoting that computer experience of Senior High School

ICT students was positive. It means that the students lack computer experience or

background on computer which is why they have computer anxiety. Chien (2008)

mentioned that computer experience has a negative relationship with an individual’s

computer anxiety.

In the same manner, the respondents had an agreeable rating on computer anxiety

about socio-economic background described as moderate which specified that the items
indicated were positive in Senior High School ICT Students. They feel anxiety in working

with computers due to the incapability to own one. Consequently, being unable to own

computer is not a hindrance to students to gain knowledge about computers.The viewpoint

of Chien (2010) is somehow associated with these results. He stated that people who are

social-economically privileged have low computer anxiety.

Correlation Between Measures

The present study reveals a significant relationship between Computer Literacy and

Computer Anxiety of Senior High School ICT students in UM Tagum College. This

implies that computer literacy does affect the computer anxiety of students which can be

seen on the data. This confirms the study of Houtz et al. (2001) which emphasizes that

possessing computer related skills or computer literacy promotes a positive feeling towards

the computer. If a student is computer literate, he/she has a positive computer attitude.

Moreover, if a student does not have computer literacy, he/she might have a feeling of

anxiousness because of the fear of not being able to operate a computer efficiently.

The correlation between computer literacy and computer anxiety is significant. This

implies that computer anxiety is dependent on computer literacy. These findings affirmed

the proposition of Akkus (2004) who viewed that as computer literacy increases, computer

anxiety decreases as well.

Conclusion

Based from the findings of the study, conclusions are drawn in this section. The

level of Computer Literacy of Senior High School ICT students in UM Tagum College is

high for word processing skills, high for basic operation skills and the overall mean of very

high for the level of computer literacy. This means that computer literacy was positive in
Senior High School ICT students. The level of Computer Anxiety of Senior High School

ICT students in UM Tagum College is moderate for computer experience, moderate for

socio-economic background and overall mean of moderate for the level of computer

anxiety. This means that computer anxiety was positive in Senior High School ICT

students. There is a significant relationship between Computer Literacy and Computer

Anxiety of Senior High School ICT students. The computer literacy significantly affects

computer anxiety. This is in line with the study of Shashaam (1997) which stated that

Computer literacy positively influence computer attitude.

Recommendations

In the light of the foregoing findings and conclusion, the following

recommendations are offered; Teachers may help students overcome computer anxiety and

become computer literate by teaching them even the basic operations of a computer to

complex ones, like programming, on their computer programming classes before

proceeding to the actual programming phase. They can spend more time on making the

student understand the lesson before giving an activity which will enhance their learning.

Also, the subject E-Tech might be more beneficial if it will be included in the first semester

, so that the students will have an initial insight or background and that the activities in this

subject will serve as a preparation for programming. The parents of the students who are

computer anxiety can also formulate preventive measures that would help their sons or

daughters overcome the anxiousness. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to the students if

they may continue their interest in the learning processes and show good performance in

order to become computer literate. Lastly, it may provide the

future researchers a starting point on how to expand the coverage of the research in
terms of the variables and participants covered in the study.