ICT and the UN's sustainable development goal for education: Using ICT to boost the math performance of immigrant youths in the US

In the context of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal for education, this study examines the potential of information, communication, and technology (ICT) as a way to provide quality education for all, with a focus on immigrant youth in the United States. The study uses structural equation models (SEM) to analyze data from a nationally representative data set, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)-USA. Focusing on mathematics achievement among immigrant youth (with non-immigrant youth as a reference group), this study explores the effects of ICT access and two types of ICT use for educational purposes: generic and specific. The results indicate that ICT access and specific ICT use both have positive direct, indirect, and total effects on math performance for immigrant youths, while generic ICT use has only a nonsignificant negative effect. In nonimmigrant youths, these ICT variables showed a different pattern, with the effects of ICT access and specific ICT use being less pronounced, but generic ICT use exhibiting a significant negative effect. These findings show the potential role of ICT-mediated education in narrowing the achievement gap between immigrant and nonimmigrant students, thereby helping immigrants better integrate into their destination countries.