Background Despite widespread integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in education, the relationship between technology use and academic achievement remains paradoxical. Educational psychology theories emphasize self-efficacy as a critical mediator of learning outcomes, yet its role in technology-mediated learning environments requires empirical clarification. Objective This study examined the psychological mechanisms underlying the ICT-achievement relationship, testing whether self-efficacy beliefs mediate technology's impact on mathematics performance among adolescents. Method Using PISA 2022 data from 5,237 Japanese 15 years old, we employed multiple regression with backward elimination to identify parsimonious predictors of mathematics achievement. Variables included five ICT measures (school use, home use, subject-specific use, weekday use, self-efficacy), three psychological constructs (mathematics self-efficacy, study motivation, perceived teacher support), and demographic controls. Results Six predictors explained 35.4% of variance. Mathematics self-efficacy emerged as the dominant predictor (β = 0.46, p 0.001), far exceeding all technology variables. Notably, general ICT use showed negative associations (school ICT: β = −0.08; ICT self-efficacy: β = −0.09; weekday use: β = −0.07), while only pedagogically aligned ICT use predicted positive outcomes (β = 0.05). Socioeconomic status was the second strongest predictor (β = 0.24). Conclusion Psychological factors, particularly domain-specific self-efficacy beliefs, supersede technological access in predicting achievement. These findings address the practical application of the ICT paradox in the field of education: frequent use of technology without a teaching purpose may increase cognitive load and distraction, thereby weakening learning outcomes. Educational intervention measures should prioritize the development of self-efficacy and purposeful integration of technology, rather than merely providing opportunities for digital access.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.