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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
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Original scientific paper
Received: March 31, 2025.
Revised: July 17, 2025.
Accepted: July 21, 2025.
UDC:
37.091.64:004.738.5(497.11)”2024”
030:004.738.5
10.23947/2334-8496-2025-13-2-323-334
© 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
*
Corresponding author:
markos@pfvr.ni.ac.rs
Abstract: The rapid development of digital technologies and the accessibility of numerous online resources have
significantly influenced contemporary education. Among these digital platforms, Wikipedia stands out as a widely visited and
influential open-access online encyclopedia. While numerous studies have explored the use of Wikipedia in higher educa-
tion, its potential in primary education remains underexamined. The purpose of this study is to investigate the opportuni-
ties for using Wikipedia in primary school education and to examine students’ attitudes toward its use. The research was
conducted on a sample of 364 seventh- and eighth-grade primary school students. A questionnaire was designed to assess
students’ opinions on the application of Wikipedia in educational contexts. Students were divided into two groups: one
group used Wikipedia for lesson processing, while the other followed a traditional approach. Using the multivariate Kruskal-
Wallis test and descriptive statistics, the results revealed that students hold slightly positive views on the use of Wikipedia
in education, regardless of gender, grade level, academic performance, or prior classroom use of Wikipedia. Furthermore,
the findings indicate that students in higher grades have experience using Wikipedia, though they generally lack formal
exposure to it in classroom settings. Despite this, students frequently use Wikipedia for verifying information and complet-
ing homework, demonstrating openness to its integration into the educational process. This study highlights the potential for
enhancing teaching practices in primary education by incorporating widely used digital information sources like Wikipedia.
Keywords: Wikipedia in education, primary school education, students’ attitudes, modernization of teaching.
Marko Stanković
1*
, Marija Tasić
1
, Đorđe Stakić
2
, Aleksandar Damjanović
3
1
University of Niš, Pedagogical Faculty in Vranje, Vranje, Serbia, e-mail:
markos@pfvr.ni.ac.rs, marijat@pfvr.ni.ac.rs
2
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics and Business, Belgrade, Serbia, e-mail:
djordje.stakic@ekof.bg.ac.rs
3
Union University, Faculty of Computing, Belgrade, Serbia, e-mail:
adamjanovic@raf.rs
Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’
Experiences and Perspectives
Introduction
Wikipedia is the largest and most widely used online encyclopedia, providing a multilingual plat-
form for the collaborative creation and dissemination of knowledge. Due to its global openness and free
access, Wikipedia is often considered an inclusive and democratic educational resource. As one of the
most visited websites worldwide (
Similarweb, 2025), it consistently ranks among the top search results,
making it a highly accessible and influential information source (McDowell and Vetter, 2021). Wikipedia
has become a global repository of human knowledge, offering an ever-expanding digital archive across
diverse disciplines. While its scope and accessibility are undeniable strengths, they also give rise to cer-
tain challenges and criticisms, particularly regarding the reliability and quality of its content.
Despite its widespread use, Wikipedia has faced persistent criticism from the research and edu-
cation communities, primarily due to concerns about the open-editing model, where anyone—including
anonymous non-experts—can contribute. This often raises questions about academic credibility, as the
absence of a formal peer-review process can lead to inconsistent quality, incomplete articles, and the
occasional spread of misinformation. This open-access approach results in articles of varying quality,
with some entries remaining incomplete, unsourced, or vulnerable to vandalism. The absence of a formal
peer-review mechanism further exacerbates these issues, making it difficult to ensure the consistency and
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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
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accuracy of the information presented (Christensen, 2015; Reinsalu et al., 2023). Teachers often express
apprehension that students use Wikipedia as a primary source without critically evaluating its content or
seeking alternative references (García-Delgado Giménez and Pinto Tortosa, 2024). Both teachers and
students exhibit a lack of trust and a critical stance toward the platform. However, some initiatives have
demonstrated the potential for improving the trustworthiness of Wikipedia through targeted educational in-
terventions. For example, a study by Dudić et al. (2024) highlights efforts by Wikimedia Serbia to promote
digital literacy and proper referencing among students, showing a significant improvement in students’
understanding of trust mechanisms and responsible content creation on the platform. Moreover, research
suggests that trust in Wikipedia varies depending on the level of education (Mothe and Sahut, 2018).
Additionally, the platform has been criticized for systemic biases and imbalanced coverage, particularly
in underrepresented sociocultural topics, which questions its aspiration to be a truly comprehensive and
impartial repository of human knowledge.
Despite the criticisms surrounding Wikipedia’s open-editing model, numerous studies highlight its
significant pedagogical potential when integrated thoughtfully into the educational process. Wikipedia
can serve as a powerful teaching tool by fostering active learning, enhancing student engagement, and
promoting collaboration within study groups. Its application in the classroom supports the development
of academic literacy (Azar, 2023; Bröcher et al., 2023; Evenstein Sigalov et al., 2024), as students im-
prove their information retrieval and critical reading skills while participating in collaborative content crea-
tion. Moreover, Wikipedia-based assignments offer an authentic learning experience, allowing students
to contribute to a global knowledge base while refining their research and writing abilities. This approach
demands a purposeful integration by educators, ensuring that students not only consume information but
also engage with it critically and responsibly.
In addition to Wikipedia, several sister projects (Commons, MediaWiki, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wiki-
quote, Wikispecies, Wikiversity, Wiktionary, etc.) within the Wikimedia movement demonstrate significant
potential for academic use. Among the most prominent is Wikidata, a free, multilingual, and open knowl-
edge base that stores structured, linked data. For example, Wikidata, the largest semantic knowledge
base in existence, offers unique learning opportunities (Evenstein Sigalov and Nachmias, 2023). Local
initiatives also play an important role; for instance, the Wiki-librarian project (supported by Wikimedia
Serbia) aims at training librarians and students of librarianship and information science to work with Wiki-
pedia and other Wikimedia tools, enhancing digital literacy and contributing to the quality and expansion
of Serbian Wikipedia’s content (Stakić et al., 2021b). Similarly, the Professional Development of Teachers
project (Ratković and Rudinac, 2023) focuses on equipping teachers from provincial areas with the skills
needed to implement Wiki-projects in their schools, thereby promoting equity in access to open knowl-
edge and fostering critical engagement with online information.
In order to better understand the educational potential of Wikipedia, it is important to consider
relevant studies and initiatives from both Serbia and other countries. Comprehensive details on educa-
tional initiatives in Serbia are available at (Wikimedia Education - Serbia, n.d.). The following paragraphs
provide an overview of significant projects and research conducted at different educational levels—higher,
secondary, and primary education—which set the foundation for our study.
Regarding the integration of Wikipedia into higher education, the Wikipedia Education Program
represents a global effort to incorporate Wikipedia into university classrooms. Davis et al. (2023) demon-
strate its positive impact through case studies from Serbia, Israel, the United States/Canada, and Brazil,
illustrating how Wikipedia-based activities can enhance student engagement and foster interdisciplinary
collaboration. In Serbia, the Wiki Student project aims to integrate Wikipedia into higher education by
engaging students in writing term papers on topics related to their university courses. Findings from this
project indicate that faculty students generally hold positive attitudes toward Wikipedia’s use in education,
as shown in the study by
Stakić et al. (2021a), which highlights its potential to innovate and enrich the
learning process. Globally, numerous studies highlight Wikipedia’s educational potential in higher educa-
tion including Petrucco (2018), Zou et al. (2020), Cardoso and Pestana (2020), Malik et al. (2023), Sunvy
and Reza (2023)
, Arslan and Turk (2024), Evenstein Sigalov et al. (2024), and many others.
Concerning high school education, Wikipedia has also proven to be a valuable educational tool with
significant learning potential, as confirmed by numerous studies, such as
Blikstad-Balas (2016) and Rein-
salu et al. (2023). In Serbia, the Wiki Gymnasium project is specifically designed for high school students
and teachers, aiming to familiarize them with Wikipedia’s significance, benefits, and editing process. The
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project encourages teachers to integrate Wikipedia into their teaching by assigning students to write term
papers on subjects such as geography, history, and biology. Moreover, research conducted within these
workshops has provided valuable insights into the educational potential of Wikipedia (Dudić et al., 2024).
There is also potential for integrating Wikipedia into primary education. A notable example is the
Txikipedia project, a sub-project of the Basque Wikipedia aimed at children aged 8 to 13, offering sim-
plified content primarily focused on mathematics and natural sciences. The study by Iribas Pardo et
al. (2022) examined the appropriateness of mathematical content created for Txikipedia, showing that
primary school students benefit from reading its textual and audiovisual materials, highlighting the role
of digital humanities in enhancing mathematics education. In Serbia, the Wiki Schooler project serves as
an initiative for introducing Wikipedia to primary school students and their teachers. The project has been
implemented in several schools over the years, involving activities such as writing and editing Wikipedia
pages on age-appropriate topics. However, compared to Wiki Student and Wiki Gymnasium, the engage-
ment with Wikipedia at the primary school level has been more limited, both in terms of the number of
participating institutions and the volume of content produced.
Since the use of Wikipedia in primary education has been the least explored, this study focuses
specifically on examining its potential in that context. The research is conducted among 7th and 8th-grade
students, aiming to determine how often they use Wikipedia and whether they recognize its educational po-
tential. We explore whether students have previously used Wikipedia in their classes, for homework assign-
ments, and for verifying information, assessing their perceptions of its applicability in the learning process.
Materials and Methods
Participants
The sample consisted of 364 students from Radoje Domanović Primary School and Vuk Karadžić
Primary School in Vranje, Serbia, including 103 seventh-grade students and 261 eighth-grade students.
It is important to note that the primary education system in Serbia consists of preschool education and
eight years of primary school, meaning that the participants were in the final two grades of primary school.
Students typically enroll in primary school between the ages of 6.5 and 7.5 years, so the participants in
this study were approximately 14 to 15 years old.
The sample included students who attended either Civic Education or English Language classes.
The students were divided into two groups. The first group of 214 students studied the lessons for the
mentioned subjects in a traditional manner according to the curriculum. This group could have been
surveyed at a random point during the study, independent of the lessons, but they were surveyed imme-
diately at the beginning.
The second group of 150 students used Wikipedia as part of their lessons for the mentioned sub-
jects, specifically during one class session. For example, students were allowed to consult Wikipedia
during discussions to find answers, verify facts, etc. No prior training was provided on using Wikipedia;
students used it as they were already familiar with it. During one of the following regular classes, these
students filled out a questionnaire. Finally, the obtained data were statistically processed.
Research Design and Instruments
The research was conducted during February 2024, which corresponds to the beginning of the sec-
ond term in the Serbian primary school system. The questionnaire was designed to evaluate the extent to
which students use Wikipedia, whether they use it as part of their learning process, and to examine their
attitudes toward using Wikipedia in primary school classrooms.
The data collection was conducted using the survey method, with an anonymous questionnaire as
the primary instrument. This questionnaire was specifically developed for the purposes of this study and
included items addressing all three research hypotheses. Participants’ attitudes were measured using a
five-point Likert scale, ranging from “completely disagree” to “completely agree”. The questions aimed to
assess students’ familiarity with Wikipedia, their use of it in the learning process, and their perspectives
on integrating Wikipedia into classroom activities in primary schools. Quantitative data obtained through
the rating scale were processed using the SPSS statistical software. The analysis of the results employed
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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE), 13(2), 323-334.
descriptive statistics, the multivariate Kruskal-Wallis test (MKW), and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The
research findings are presented both in textual form and through tables.
Research Aims and Research Hypotheses
The aim of this research was to explore students’ attitudes towards the use of Wikipedia in their
learning process, both as a source of information and as an educational tool. The specific objectives of
the study were:
1. To explore students’ attitudes toward using Wikipedia in the classroom and examine whether these
attitudes show statistically significant differences based on independent variables such as gender,
grade level, and grade point average.
2. To determine whether students in higher grades of primary school use Wikipedia.
3. To examine whether students have prior experience with using Wikipedia in formal educational settings.
The General Hypothesis of the study posited that students have a positive attitude towards the
use of Wikipedia in the learning process, both as an information source and as a teaching aid. Specific
hypotheses:
H1: Students are open to the use of Wikipedia as part of classroom instruction and there are no sig-
nificant differences in students’ attitudes towards Wikipedia based on independent variables such as
gender, grade level, or grade point average.
H2: Students in the higher grades of primary school have experience using Wikipedia.
H3: Students do not have prior experience with using Wikipedia in formal teaching.
Research Variables
The structure of the research required categorizing the variables into independent and dependent
ones. The independent variables in this study were gender, grade level, grade point average and integra-
tion of Wikipedia into the educational process.
“Gender” refers to the potential differences in attitudes towards the use of Wikipedia between male
and female students. Research consistently highlights a significant gender gap in Wikipedia engagement.
For instance, a study on the Spanish Wikipedia revealed that only 11.6% of editors are women, with men out-
numbering women by at least a 3:1 ratio across all Wikipedia sections (Minguillón et al., 2021). Additionally,
global research on Wikipedia readership shows that women are underrepresented among readers, viewing
fewer pages per session compared to men (Johnson et al., 2021). This trend is also reflected in local studies
on the Serbian Wikipedia, which show similar gender disparities (Maljković, 2015) . These findings suggest
the importance of examining gender differences in students’ attitudes towards Wikipedia’s educational use.
“Grade level” is used to explore differences in attitudes between 7th- and 8th-grade students. As
students progress through the final years of primary education, their familiarity with online resources and
digital tools typically increases. Dúo-Terrón et al. (2022) similarly found that students’ engagement and
motivation toward information and communication technology (ICT) were influenced by their age and
grade level, with sixth-grade students showing medium-to-high levels of ICT use. This suggests that grade
level may play a significant role in shaping students’ attitudes toward digital resources like Wikipedia.
“Grade point average” serves to assess whether students with higher academic performance are
more inclined to view Wikipedia as a valuable tool in the learning process. This variable aims to determine
whether students with better grades are more likely to embrace Wikipedia’s inclusion in classroom instruc-
tion. The sample is divided into four groups based on students’ previous year performance: 2.00–2.49
(sufficient), 2.50–3.49 (good), 3.50–4.49 (very good), and 4.50–5.00 (excellent). This grading system is
a standard in Serbia. In a previous study by Stakić et al. (2021a), it was shown that grade point average
does not influence university students’ positive attitudes toward the use of Wikipedia in teaching. On the
other hand, the study by Pavlović et al. (2017) reported statistically significant differences in university
students’ responses regarding their motivations for using Wikipedia based on their grade point average.
The discrepancy in these findings may be attributed to the specific methodologies and sample character-
istics of each study. Nevertheless, the importance of grade point average as a factor influencing students’
attitudes toward educational tools remains evident, making it an important variable for further research,
especially in the context of primary school education.
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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
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“Wikipedia integration”: This variable distinguishes between two groups of students based on their
exposure to Wikipedia during classroom instruction. The first group followed traditional teaching methods
without the use of Wikipedia, while the second group incorporated Wikipedia into their lessons, using it to
consult information, verify facts, and participate in discussions. This variable allows us to observe whether
the integration of Wikipedia as a learning tool influences students’ attitudes and perceptions.
The dependent variable in this study was the students’ attitudes towards the integration of Wiki-
pedia into the educational process. The research focused on analyzing the relationship between these
independent variables (gender, grade level, and grade point average) and the dependent variable, i.e.,
students’ attitudes towards the use of Wikipedia in teaching.
Results
The research results are presented separately, organized according to the proposed hypotheses.
The presentation begins with the most significant hypothesis.
Hypothesis 1
Hypothesis H1 examines students’ openness to the use of Wikipedia as part of classroom instruc-
tion. To test this hypothesis, we used the following statements:
Statement 1.1: I eagerly use Wikipedia content for learning.
Statement 1.2: I think lessons would be more interesting if they were conducted with the help of Wikipedia.
Statement 1.3: I believe that textbook content should be supplemented with information from Wikipedia.
Statement 1.4: I believe that Wikipedia cannot be adequately used for teaching and learning purposes.
(Reverse-coded)
To test this hypothesis, we used the MKW version proposed by Katz and McSweeney (1980).
There are two reasons why this test is suitable for hypothesis testing. First, it allows control over the alpha
risk of the study, i.e., the risk of making an incorrect conclusion by rejecting the null hypothesis H
0
when
it is true. Additionally, individual tests tend to overlook the interaction effects of different treatment factors.
The results are presented in Table 1. MKW Results for All Factors Combined and Individually. Overall, the
results indicate no statistically significant differences in students’ responses to the four statements across
the given factors (gender, grade level, academic performance and integration of Wikipedia into the educa-
tional process). Even when the MKW test is applied separately for each factor, no statistically significant
differences are observed (all p-values are greater than 0.05, supporting the null hypothesis H
0
that there
are no differences in responses). In other words, students’ attitudes remain consistent regardless of gen-
der, grade level, academic performance, or whether they used Wikipedia in classroom.
The variable of average grade shows a slightly lower p-value (0.081857) compared to the others,
though it still does not reach the threshold for statistical significance (p < 0.05). This suggests a potential
but not confirmed trend where students’ academic performance may slightly influence their attitudes toward
Wikipedia’s use in learning, but more investigation would be required to establish a clearer relationship.
Table 1. MKW Results for All Factors Combined and Individually
Grouping variable MKW Statistic Number of groups (k) p-value
All 101.9408 32 0.14695
Gender 2.474488 2 0.64921
Grade level 4.653141 2 0.324773
Average grade 19.28598 4
0.081857
Wikipedia integration 3.483216 2 0.480435
Despite the lack of statistical significance for variable “Wikipedia integration”, students appear to
have slightly positive views on the use of Wikipedia in education (Table 2. Distribution of Responses to
Statements Assessing Students’ Openness Towards Using Wikipedia in Classroom Instruction presents
the distribution of responses). For instance, 52% of students either “Agree” or “Completely agree” with
Statement 1.1 (“I eagerly use Wikipedia content for learning”), indicating a general willingness to incorpo-
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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE), 13(2), 323-334.
rate Wikipedia into their study practices. The median response of 4 and the mode of 4 reinforce this posi-
tive trend. Statement 1.2 (“I think lessons would be more interesting if they were conducted with the help
of Wikipedia”) received a more mixed response, with 45.1% of students agreeing or completely agreeing.
The median and mode responses of 3 suggest a more neutral attitude overall, yet a considerable por-
tion of students still see potential for enhancing lesson engagement through Wikipedia. A similar pattern
emerges with Statement 1.3 (“I believe that textbook content should be supplemented with information
from Wikipedia”), where 44.5% of students expressed agreement. The median and mode of 3 again re-
flect a balance of opinions, suggesting that while many students see value in Wikipedia as a supplemen-
tary resource, there remains some hesitation. The reverse-coded Statement 1.4 (“I believe that Wikipedia
cannot be adequately used for teaching and learning purposes”) reveals a more cautious perspective
on Wikipedia’s reliability. Here, 42% of students either “Disagree” or “Completely disagree”, indicating a
notable portion of students who believe Wikipedia can indeed serve as a useful educational tool.
Table 2. Distribution of Responses to Statements Assessing Students’ Openness Towards Using
Wikipedia in Classroom Instruction
Statements
Completely
disagree
Disagree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Agree
Completely
agree
Average Median Mode
I eagerly use Wikipedia
content for learning
N 28 47 100 104 85
3.47 4 4
% 7.7 12.9
27.5 28.6 23.4
I think lessons would be
more interesting if they
were conducted with the
help of Wikipedia
N 23 57 120 96 68
3.35 3 3
% 6.3 15.7
33 26.4 18.7
I believe that textbook
content should be supple-
mented with information
from Wikipedia
N 28 54 120 90 72
3.34 3 3
% 7.7 14.8 33 24.7 19.8
I believe that Wikipedia
cannot be adequately
used for teaching and
learning purposes
N 58 95
132 65 14
2.68 3 3
% 15.9 26.1
36.3 17.9 3.9
Hypothesis 2
Hypothesis H2 states that students in the higher grades of primary school have experience using
Wikipedia. This hypothesis was tested through four statements designed to capture students’ frequency
and purpose of Wikipedia usage:
Statement 2.1: I frequently use Wikipedia.
Statement 2.2: I mostly use Wikipedia to verify various data.
Statement 2.3: I use Wikipedia as the main source of information whenever I encounter an unfamiliar term.
Statement 2.4: I do not use Wikipedia or use it very rarely. (Reverse-coded)
The first statement was selected as the primary indicator for testing this hypothesis. A Wilcoxon
signed-rank test was conducted to determine whether the median response was greater than 3 (H
0
: Me
≤ 3). This test distinguishes between neutral or negative attitudes and positive attitudes toward frequent
Wikipedia usage. The results are presented in Table 3 . Results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test for
Frequent Wikipedia Usage yielding a Wilcoxon statistic of 22520, a median of 4, a p-value of 0.000, and
a Cohen’s r of 0.2993. As the null hypothesis was rejected, we can assert that the population median is
greater than 3, indicating that students frequently use Wikipedia.
Table 3 . Results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test for Frequent Wikipedia Usage
Statement Wilcoxon Median p-value Cohen r
I frequently use Wikipedia 22520 4 0 0.2993
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The Wilcoxon signed-rank test is a non-parametric test used to compare the median of a sample
to an expected value—in this case, whether the median response is greater than 3. The Wilcoxon sta-
tistic (22520) is the calculated value of the test, which helps derive the p-value. The median response
of 4 indicates that most students provided answers above the neutral value of 3, suggesting a positive
attitude toward frequent Wikipedia use. The p-value of 0.000 (interpreted as <0.001) demonstrates a very
low probability that this result occurred by chance, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis and sup-
porting the claim that students frequently use Wikipedia. Cohen’s r of 0.2993 measures the effect size,
showing a moderate strength of this positive tendency toward Wikipedia usage.
The descriptive statistics of all four statements provide additional insight into students’ experiences
with Wikipedia (see Table 4. Distribution of Responses to Statements Assessing Students’ Experience
with Wikipedia Usage for details). For Statement 2.1, 52.5% of students agreed or completely agreed that
they frequently use Wikipedia, with a median of 4 and a mode of 4. This suggests a general tendency
toward frequent usage. Statement 2.2 (“I mostly use Wikipedia to verify various data”) received the most
affirmative responses, with 80.2% of students agreeing or completely agreeing. The median response of
4 and a mode of 5 further emphasize the role of Wikipedia as a tool for data verification. Statement 2.3 (“I
use Wikipedia as the main source of information whenever I encounter an unfamiliar term”) also reflects
a positive inclination, with 66.8% of students agreeing or completely agreeing. The median and mode
responses of 4 and 5, respectively, suggest that a significant proportion of students rely on Wikipedia as
their primary informational resource. In contrast, the reverse-coded Statement 2.4 (“I do not use Wikipedia
or use it very rarely”) shows a less favorable stance toward infrequent usage. Only 21.1% of students
agreed or completely agreed with this statement, whereas 48.9% disagreed or completely disagreed.
The average score of 2.6 and a median and mode of 3 indicate a balanced perspective with a slight ten-
dency toward disagreement. These findings collectively support the hypothesis that students in the higher
grades of primary school have substantial experience using Wikipedia, both as a general informational
resource and as a means of verifying data.
Table 4. Distribution of Responses to Statements Assessing Students’ Experience with Wikipedia Usage
Statements
Completely
disagree
Disagree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Agree
Completely
agree
Average Median Mode
I frequently use Wikipedia
N 16 32 125 144 47
3.48 4 4
% 4.4 8.8 34.3 39.6 12.9
I mostly use Wikipedia to
verify various data
N 13 19 40 134 158
4.11 4 5
% 3.6 5.2 11 36.8 43.4
I use Wikipedia as the
main source of information
whenever I encounter an
unfamiliar term
N 16 18 87 107 136
3.9 4 5
% 4.4 4.9 23.9 29.4 37.4
I do not use Wikipedia or
use it very rarely
N 75 103 109 46 31
2.6 3 3
% 20.6 28.3 29.9 12.6 8.5
Hypothesis 3
Hypothesis H3 states that students do not have prior experience with using Wikipedia in formal
teaching. This hypothesis was tested through four statements designed to capture students’ experiences
and opportunities for using Wikipedia in educational contexts:
Statement 3.1
: I often find myself in a situation where we discuss Wikipedia content in class.
Statement 3.2: Teachers have directed us to Wikipedia as a source of information for learning.
Statement 3.3: I frequently use Wikipedia as an additional source of information when doing home-
work or other tasks.
Statement 3.4: I have not had the opportunity to use Wikipedia for teaching and learning purposes.
The first statement was selected as the primary indicator for testing this hypothesis. Again, the
Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted to determine whether the median response was greater than
3 (H
0
: Me ≤ 3). Analogously, the test distinguishes between neutral or negative attitudes and positive at-
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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
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titudes toward discussing Wikipedia content in class. The results are presented in Table 5. Results of the
Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test for Students’ Discussion of Wikipedia Content in Class, yielding a Wilcoxon
statistic of 7239, a median of 2, a p-value of 1, and no calculable Cohen’s r.
Table 5. Results of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test for Students’ Discussion of Wikipedia Content in Class
Statement Wilcoxon Median p-value Cohen r
I often find myself in a situation
where we discuss Wikipedia
content in class
7239 2 1 -
The median response of 2 indicates that most students provided answers below the neutral value
of 3, suggesting a lack of classroom discussions involving Wikipedia content. The p-value of 1 suggests
no statistical significance, leading to the acceptance of the null hypothesis and supporting the claim that
students generally do not discuss Wikipedia content in class.
The descriptive statistics of all four statements provide additional insight into students’ experiences
with Wikipedia in formal teaching. Table 6. Distribution of Responses to Statements Assessing Students’
Experience with Wikipedia in Formal Education presents the distribution of responses for all four state-
ments assessing students’ experiences with Wikipedia in formal teaching. For Statement 3.1 (“I often find
myself in a situation where we discuss Wikipedia content in class”), the majority of students expressed
disagreement, with 33% completely disagreeing and 25.8% disagreeing. The median response of 2 and
mode of 1 confirm the rarity of such discussions. Statement 3.2 (“Teachers have directed us to Wikipedia
as a source of information for learning”) received a more balanced set of responses, with 22.5% agreeing
and 11% completely agreeing, while 20% completely disagreed. The median and mode responses of 3
reflect a neutral stance.
In contrast, Statement 3.3 (“I frequently use Wikipedia as an additional source of information when
doing homework or other tasks”) shows a more positive tendency, with 35.2% agreeing and 22.5% com-
pletely agreeing. The median and mode of 4 suggest that students often turn to Wikipedia for individual
learning purposes. Finally, the reverse-coded Statement 3.4 (“I have not had the opportunity to use Wiki-
pedia for teaching and learning purposes”) aligns with the hypothesis, as 30.5% completely disagreed
and 26.9% disagreed. The median and mode of 2 indicate that many students acknowledge some op-
portunities for using Wikipedia, albeit infrequently. These findings collectively support the hypothesis that
students generally lack formal classroom experience with Wikipedia, though they frequently use it for
individual learning and homework support.
Table 6. Distribution of Responses to Statements Assessing Students’ Experience with Wikipedia in Formal Education
Statements
Completely
disagree
Disagree
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Agree
Completely
agree
Average Median Mode
I often find myself in
a situation where we
discuss Wikipedia content
in class
N 120 94 84 48 18
2.31 2 1
% 33 25.8 23.1 13.2 4.9
Teachers have directed us
to Wikipedia as a source
of information for learning
N 73 75 94 82 40
2.95 3 3
% 20 20.6 25.8 22.5 11
I frequently use Wikipedia
as an additional source of
information when doing
homework or other tasks
N 20 51 83 128 82
3.55 4 4
% 5.5 14 22.8 35.2 22.5
I have not had the op-
portunity to use Wikipedia
for teaching and learning
purposes
N 111 98 96 41 18
2.33 2 1
% 30.5 26.9 26.4 11.3 4.9
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Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE), 13(2), 323-334.
Discussions
The results obtained from this research cannot be generalized, as the sample size could have been
larger and more representative. Additionally, the study was conducted in Vranje, a small town in southern
Serbia, one of the country’s least developed regions, and the socio-economic background of the partici-
pants was not considered in this research. These factors may influence the attitudes and experiences of
students, suggesting the need for broader, more diverse sampling in future studies.
The results of testing H1 indicate that students’ attitudes remain consistent regardless of gender,
grade level, academic performance, or whether they used Wikipedia in classroom instruction. The ab-
sence of differences in attitudes based on gender, grade level, average grade, or previous exposure to
Wikipedia-based lessons can be interpreted in several ways. Although previous studies with university
students have shown mixed findings—some indicating gender-based differences (Remmik et al., 2024)
and others not (Stakić et al., 2021a)—no such differences were observed in this study. Similarly, there
were no differences in attitudes based on grade level. Given that the participants were 7th and 8th-grade
students, their closeness in age likely contributes to the uniformity of their responses.
It is worth noting that the variable of average grade shows a slightly lower p-value (0.081857) com-
pared to the others, though it still does not reach the threshold for statistical significance (p < 0.05). This
suggests a potential but not yet confirmed trend where students’ academic performance may slightly influ-
ence their attitudes toward Wikipedia’s use in learning. Further investigation with larger and more diverse
samples could help establish a clearer relationship, especially at higher levels of education.
An intriguing finding is the lack of change in students’ attitudes despite their engagement with les-
sons where Wikipedia was used as a resource. This may be influenced by the choice of subjects—English
and Civic Education—which may not be the most suitable for demonstrating Wikipedia’s full educational
potential. A subject-specific analysis would likely provide more nuanced insights. Additionally, only one
lesson was covered in each subject, which may have been insufficient for students to fully experience
Wikipedia’s usefulness, especially if the lesson content did not require extensive use of the platform.
Moreover, students did not receive any formal training on how to use Wikipedia effectively. Training
and contribution to Wikipedia could play a crucial role in shaping students’ perceptions, as it would allow
them to explore Wikipedia’s possibilities and its potential for classroom learning more comprehensively
(see Soler-Adillon, Pavlovic and Freixa, 2018). These factors likely contribute to the observed uniformity
in attitudes.
On the other hand, these results open up multiple avenues for future research. Investigating how
students’ perceptions evolve with more extensive and subject-specific integration of Wikipedia, examin-
ing the impact of formal training, and exploring the role of socio-economic factors could provide a deeper
understanding of Wikipedia’s educational potential.
The results of testing H2 indicate that students in the higher grades of primary school have expe-
rience using Wikipedia. The high frequency of Wikipedia usage among students can be interpreted in
several ways. First, it aligns with global trends indicating that Wikipedia is one of the most widely used
online knowledge resources. Students’ reliance on Wikipedia for verifying data and understanding unfa-
miliar terms highlights the platform’s perceived credibility and accessibility. This suggests that Wikipedia
has already established itself as an essential part of students’ informal learning practices, even when not
directly integrated into classroom instruction. However, the results also open up questions about the depth
and quality of students’ engagement with Wikipedia. While the frequency of use is evident, it remains
unclear how critically students approach the information they find there or whether they cross-reference
it with other sources. Future research could explore students’ information literacy skills and their ability to
evaluate the reliability of Wikipedia content.
Moreover, the reverse-coded statement (Statement 2.4) indicating rare or no Wikipedia use received
low agreement, further reinforcing the overall positive attitude toward the platform. This consistency across
multiple indicators strengthens the conclusion that Wikipedia is already a familiar and frequently used tool
among primary school students, making it a promising resource for more structured educational integration.
The results of testing H3, indicate that students generally lack formal classroom experience with
Wikipedia. Discussions involving Wikipedia content are rare in classroom settings. Descriptive statistics
further reinforce this, as the majority of students expressed disagreement with statements about using
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332
Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE), 13(2), 323-334.
Wikipedia as a teaching resource. However, the data also reveal an interesting contrast: while Wikipedia
is rarely incorporated into formal instruction, students frequently use it as an additional source for home-
work and independent learning, which is consistent with findings by
Blikstad-Balas (2016). The positive
responses to Statement 3.3 highlight this tendency, suggesting that students recognize Wikipedia’s value
and reliability outside the classroom context. This discrepancy points to a clear gap between students’ in-
formal learning habits and classroom practices. It suggests an opportunity for educators to better integrate
Wikipedia into teaching strategies, aligning instruction with students’ existing digital literacy practices.
Greater teacher involvement and structured guidance on using Wikipedia could enhance its educational
potential and foster more critical engagement with online information sources.
Conclusions
This study explored the attitudes and experiences of 7th- and 8th-grade primary school students
toward the use of Wikipedia in education. The results showed that students generally hold slightly posi-
tive views on Wikipedia’s educational use, regardless of gender, grade level, academic performance, or
whether they have used Wikipedia as part of classroom instruction. While students frequently use Wiki-
pedia for verifying information and completing homework, their formal exposure to it in classroom settings
remains limited. These findings highlight an opportunity to better align teaching practices with students’
existing learning habits by integrating widely used digital resources like Wikipedia. Moreover, the results
are encouraging for initiatives such as the Wiki Schooler project, suggesting that structured efforts to
introduce Wikipedia into primary education could resonate well with students’ existing digital behaviors.
By formalizing Wikipedia-based activities in the classroom, educators may enhance students’ information
literacy and critical thinking skills from an early age.
Furthermore, these findings align with previous research on Wikipedia’s role in education, particu-
larly in secondary and higher education. However, this study expands on existing literature by focusing on
primary school students—an area that remains relatively underexplored. Given the growing importance of
digital resources in early education, future research could further investigate the subject-specific benefits
of Wikipedia integration, as well as the role of teacher training in maximizing its educational potential.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the participants who completed the survey and express their
sincere appreciation to primary school teacher Olgica Pešić Đorđević for her invaluable assistance in
conducting the survey.
The authors are supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innova-
tion, Republic of Serbia. The first author acknowledges support under Contract No. 451-03-136/2025-
03/200139, the second author acknowledges support under Contract No. 451-03-137/2025-03/200139,
and the third author acknowledges support under Contract No. 451-03-137/2025-03/200097.
Conflict of interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, M.S., M.T. and Đ.S.; methodology, M.S., M.T., Đ.S. and A.D.; software, A.D.;
formal analysis, M.S., M.T., Đ.S. and A.D.; writing—original draft preparation, M.S.; writing—review and
editing, M.S., M.T. and Đ.S.; supervision, M.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version
of the manuscript.
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333
Stanković, M. et al. (2025). Exploring Wikipedia Usage in Primary School Education: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives,
International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education (IJCRSEE), 13(2), 323-334.
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