ESRI Discussion Paper Series No.398 Heterogeneous Effects of ICT on Students Outcomes

　Globally, the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools has been growing in recent years. While much of the existing literature focuses on the overall impact of ICT on academic performance, this paper examines its heterogeneous effects on both students’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Based on fixed effects estimations using a panel data set of students and school surveys, we find no overall effects on students’ test scores in Japanese and math, as well as on grit, whereas the regular use of ICT in class likely improves self-efficacy. Further examination reveals that the effects of ICT on these cognitive and non-cognitive skills depend on students’ initial learning levels and school factors, highlighting the importance of considering heterogeneous effects when integrating ICT into the classroom.