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As global education trends increasingly emphasize 21st-century competencies, curriculum and learning reforms are emerging, potentially exacerbating disparities in students’ thinking abilities, termed the “thinking gap,” a profound manifestation of digital inequality. Educational informatization, leveraging Information, and Communications Technology (ICT), stands as a pivotal strategy in bridging these gaps and fostering equitable resource distribution. Using data from the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), this study examines how family background and ICT relate to students’ creative thinking. Through multiple linear regression and Shapley value decomposition, we find that both factors are positively associated with creative thinking. Notably, a student’s confidence in using technology (ICT self-efficacy) emerges as a key factor, substantially mitigating the negative association between a disadvantaged family background and creative thinking. This research provides empirical evidence on the interplay between home environment and technology in fostering creative thinking. It offers practical insights for policymakers and educators aiming to promote educational equity in the digital age, while its cross-sectional design warrants caution in making causal claims.
Tian et al. (Wed,) studied this question.