Adolescents' informal computer usage and their expectations of ICT in teaching – Case study: Serbia

• Basic goal was establishing the structure of informal computer use among adolescents.
• We examined adolescent's expectations regarding ICT use in the teaching.
• Participants were recruited from primary, vocational and grammar schools in Serbia.
• Data processing included a descriptive and correlative analysis.
• ICT usage has an influence on expectations regarding ICT use in teaching.

This paper presents research with the basic goal of establishing the structure of informal computer use among adolescents in the Republic of Serbia, and of verifying the existence of a statistically significant correlation between this and their expectations regarding the implementation of ICT in the teaching process. This research was conducted by examining the opinions of 14–18 year-old adolescents regarding their computer use, Internet and social networks, and their expectations related to ICT in teaching. The results were obtained from 318 questionnaires consisting of 32 questions distributed among a representative, focused sample of adolescents: seventh and eighth grade primary, grammar and high school pupils in the Republic of Serbia. The research was carried out during the 2013/2014 school year. Data processing included a descriptive and correlative analysis which showed that Serbian adolescents are very active when it comes to informal computer use, and that there is a statistically significant correlation between the dimensions of computer use among adolescents and their expectations regarding ICT in teaching. The obtained results provide a foundation for the prediction of educational strategies regarding mandatory ICT integration in teaching courses, and the implementation of ICT in realizing teaching content.