Slovenian eighth-grade students rank slightly above international average in computer and IT literacy, but their scores have dropped since a decade ago and in computer thinking skills they fell below international average, the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) shows.

The ICILS 2023 study, presented on 12 November at a joint press conference by the Education Ministry and the Educational Research Institute, assessed students' abilities to use information and communication technology (ICT) productively.

Conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, the study evaluated students from 34 countries and one region, measuring computer and information literacy as well as computer thinking skills.

Slovenia's results in computer and information literacy were above the international average, but only marginally so, Slovenia's national ICILS coordinator Eva Mirazchiyski Klemenčič of the Educational Research Institute said.

South Korean, Czech, Danish, and Taiwanese students scored highest, while Oman, Kosovo, and Azerbaijan ranked at the bottom.

Most countries experience decline

The average score for Slovenian eighth-graders (13-14-year-olds) in computer and information literacy has dropped by 27 points since the 2013 study. Similar declines were recorded in five more (Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, and Slovakia) of the seven countries that participated in both the 2013 and 2023 studies. South Korean students' scores remained level.

The study showed significant gaps among students, but virtually no differences among schools, which Mirazchiyski Klemenčič sees as a positive thing. Students from well-off families did better, as did students without immigrant background.

Similar to the majority of the countries included in the study, girls in Slovenia did better than boys.

Skills obtained outside school

Even though the study found that Slovenian schools are rather well equipped, most students acquired the knowledge outside of school. And even though they are quite confident about their skill level, they do not see themselves in ICT professions.

Researchers also measured computer thinking skills, a first for Slovenia. Here, Slovenian students scored 448.2 points, below the average of 483.1 points across participating countries.

Eighth-graders in Taiwan, South Korea, and the Czech Republic scored highest. Malta, Croatia, and jointly ranked Serbia and Uruguay in last place followed Slovenia in the rankings.

"The results clearly indicate that we cannot simply leave digital skills development to families and students alone," said Mirazchiyski Klemenčič.

"Students live and will continue to live in a digital environment. The question is whether we leave them to navigate it alone or educate them to use ICT more for constructive purposes rather than just entertainment," she added.

Efforts to improve the situation

Education Minister Vinko Logaj noted that the decline in digital literacy over the past decade contradicts common perceptions of a generation raised in a digital world.

The minister said that developing students digital competencies and teachers' digital literacy has so far been promoted through various projects. He noted that curriculum revisions for primary and secondary schools are currently under way to embed digital skills across all subjects.

Also updated will be didactic guidelines and curricula for computer science and ICT, which have not been revised in over twenty years.

The Educational Research Institute carried out most of the study in Slovenia between 3 May and 22 June last year, collecting data from 3,318 eighth-graders across 169 primary schools.

Business Circle, an association of business organisations, urged making computer science and informatics a mandatory subject starting from primary school in an appeal in October.

"A shortage of digitally literate staff, especially ICT experts, is a serious obstacle for companies to introduce new technologies, enhance productivity and adjust to global trends," the association said at the time, arguing that Slovenia was lagging behind European average in digitalisation.