Do Digital Textbooks Enhance K-12 Students' Learning Attitudes? Evidence from a Meta-Analysis

• In Event: From Digital Textbooks to YouTube: Innovations in Digital Learning Design

Abstract

Digital textbooks, with advantages such as interactivity and novelty over print textbooks, may promote students’ positive learning attitudes. However, past research on their impact on students’ learning attitudes has yielded mixed findings. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis of 34 effect sizes from 27 studies of 2,911 participants, aimed to (a) determine the overall effect of digital textbooks (vs. paper textbooks) on student attitude, and (b) identify moderators that account for different effect sizes across the original studies. Compared to paper textbooks, digital ones improved students' learning attitude (g = 0.876). Digital textbook effects were larger for (a) collectivistic cultures than individualistic cultures, (b) high school students than primary school students, and (c) science than other academic subjects.

Authors

• Longyue Fang, East China Normal University

• Hao Lei, East China Normal University

• Chunming Yang, East China Normal University

• Mingchen Wei, East China Normal University