Digital Mindsets: Senior Secondary Students’ Attitudes Towards Computer Education in Government and Private Schools of Himachal Pradesh.

The present study investigates the attitudes of senior secondary school students towards computer education in relation to gender, type of school, and computer usage status. The sample comprised students from both private and government schools in Shimla city. Data were collected using a standardized attitude scale, and analysis was conducted through t-tests and descriptive statistics. Results revealed no statistically significant differences in attitudes based on gender (t = 0.49) or type of school (t = 0.22), with mean scores for all groups being nearly identical. Neutral attitudes predominated across categories, with 73% of private and 80% of government school students, as well as 72.5% of computer users and 82.5% of non-users, falling in this category. Positive attitudes were marginally higher among private school students (20%) and computer users (21.25%). Negative attitudes were minimal across all groups. The findings suggest that while gender and school type exert minimal influence, regular computer usage may contribute to slightly more favorable attitudes. However, the high prevalence of neutrality indicates a need for more engaging and meaningful computer education experiences to foster stronger positive perceptions among students.