Are Computer Scientists Geeks? Gender Differences In Attitudes And Experiences Related To Computing Among Secondary Education Students In Northern Ireland.

Author(s):

Neil Anderson(presenting / submitting)Aidan McGowan(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

16. ICT in Education and Training

Format:

Paper

Session Information

16 SES 05 A, Student Attitudes Towards and Experiences With ICT

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-09

11:00-12:30

Room:

3005. [Main]

Chair:

Adriana Gewerc

Contribution

The worldwide scarcity of women studying or employed in ICT, or in computing related disciplines, continues to be a topic of concern for industry, the education sector and governments. Within Europe while females make up 46% of the workforce only 17% of IT staff are female (e-skills 2014). A similar gender divide trend is repeated worldwide, with top technology employers in Silicon Valley, including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Apple reporting that only 30% of the workforce is female (Larson 2014). Previous research into this gender divide suggests that young women in Secondary Education display a more negative attitude towards computing than their male counterparts (Sáinz & López-Sáez, 2009). One of the main reasons suggested for this has been the consequence of the historical marketing of computers as “toys for boys” (Hall, 2013). It would appear that the negative female perception of computing has led to representatively low numbers of women studying ICT at a tertiary level and consequently an under representation of females within the ICT industry.

In this study, we aim to 1) establish a baseline understanding of the attitudes and perceptions of Secondary Education pupils in regard to computing and 2) establish if young females in Secondary Education really do have a more negative attitude towards computing.

Our forthcoming research will then 1) develop and deliver an intervention whereby young females in Secondary Education are introduced to the fundamentals of computer programming in a fun and exciting manner and 2) establish if a young female’s attitude to computing changes as a result of the intervention.

In 2013, a local Northern Ireland examining board, CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment), introduced a new A-level specification entitled System Software Development (SSD). Encouraged by universities and industry this new curriculum teaches and assesses the fundamental concepts of computer programming, including Object Oriented Programming and Database Design. While SSD is only in its infancy, the level of female participation is worrying. In 2014 only 3% of those that attempted the initial yearly assessment were female.

At the tertiary level, the outlook is similarly bleak for young women. The combined undergraduate and postgraduate student gender statistics for the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Queen’s University Belfast reveal a Male: Female ratio of 78:22 (EEECS SWAN Application, 2011).

Even this ratio is bolstered slighted by one of the School’s courses, Business and Information Technologies (BIT), which has a high percentage of females (40% on average) in comparison to more traditional pure Computer Science courses which have a Male: Female ratio of 79:21 (EEECS SWAN Application, 2011).

These ratios are in stark contrast to that of Queen’s University as a whole. The university has a total of 24,000 students, with a much more favorable Male: Female ratio of 42:58 (Complete University Guide, 2015). In the context of Queen’s University, the dearth of female students is a problem that plagues Computing.

Computing at Queen’s University is by no means unique: it seems the odds are stacked against computing courses attracting young female students in any great numbers. Socially, computer scientists are still regarded a geeks (Carlson 2006) and the discipline is seen as both segregated and male-dominated (Prescott & Bogg, 2011). A perception that makes the authors most anxious is that science-based courses at university level may favour, even unwittingly, male students (Moss-Racusina et al 2012). As part of our further research we will seek to understand if there is such a bias is present in computer science locally.

Method

Attitudinal survey – a quantitative approach to establishing a baseline understanding In order to establish empirically if young female school students do have a more negative attitude towards computing, an electronic survey was presented to 50 Secondary schools in Northern Ireland. A sample of 1000 students completed the survey. The Secondary Schools and the students that participated in the survey were chosen at random. Furthermore, the researchers made no specific reference to the purpose of the survey as a gender study, other than to state that it was a survey on attitudes toward computing. Also of consideration was other demographic data such as the student’s religious denomination, socio-economic grouping and the student’s prior academic experience. This approach allows us to identify which, if any, of these factors have a strong correlation to positive or negative attitudes towards computing. Once we established this information we then asked 17 further quantitative questions, which were designed to assess a student’s attitude toward computing in five parallel strands. Each strand assesses their attitude towards: 1) The social ability of people who work in the software industry; 2) The professional and personal skills of people who work in the software industry; 3) The place of computers in their lives; 4) Their own use of computers in social, academic and recreational contexts; 5) Their own involvement in the computing sector. Each strand is assessed using a Likert-type scale by way of a number of specific statements. The students are asked to respond to each statement using a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly agree and 5 is strongly disagree. Example statement included: “People who like computer science are only interested in gadgets” and “It takes competence and intelligence to work with computers”. Intervention programme and qualitative study Following the survey we designed and delivered a six week voluntary after-school intervention programme to female only groups in several of the surveyed schools. The groups were exposed to computer programming and other aspects of computing. Many of the students had no prior experience of programming. On completion of the course we then surveyed and conducted in-depth interviews with the students to gauge if there was any change in attitudes to computing. As a follow up to this study we intend to follow the university course choices and career paths of these students and relate these decisions to their original attitudes to computing.

Expected Outcomes

Initial analysis of the data from the Computing Attitude survey shows trends similar to other research conducted in the area. The females surveyed show more negative attitudes toward computing than males and many do not intend to study Computing or ICT at tertiary level education or choose Computing as a career path. Further analysis of the results will enable us to report on other potential factors including socio-economic and educational background. The after-schools intervention has proved to be very popular and was in some cases oversubscribed. Preliminary evidence indicates that the exposure to computer programming has enabled the students to make more informed decisions on future university and career choices. We have scheduled further instances of the programme to other groups which will enable us to gain greater understanding of any attitudinal changes. However from the evidence gathered so far it appears that students were enthused by the programme, with many of the girls expressing an intention to pursue a computing career. The complete analysis of the results will be available upon research completion in May 2015.

References

CCEA (2015), Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (response to information request, January 26, 2015) Complete University Guide (2015). Queen's University, Belfast – Complete University Guide (http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/queens-belfast Accessed on 26 January 2015) e-skills, 2014. The Women in IT Scorecard. Available from: http://www.e-skills.com/research/research-themes/women-in-it1/ EEECS SWAN Application (2011). Athena SWAN Bronze and Silver Department award application. School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Queen’s University Belfast (2011). Larson, S. 2014. Survey Of Tech Giants Reaffirms Just How White And Male They Are Available at : http://readwrite.com/2014/06/26/google-facebook-yahoo-women-ethnic-diversity Hall, W 2013. Available at : http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2013/06/debate.cfm Milagros Sáinz, Mercedes López-Sáez (2009). Gender differences in computer attitudes and the choice of technology-related occupations in a sample of secondary students in Spain. Computers & Education 54 (2009) 578–587, Elsevier. Moss-Racusina et al (2012). Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2012) vol. 109 no. 41 Prescott, P, Bogg, J (2011). Segregation in a male-dominated industry: Women working in the computer games industry. (2011) Volume 3, Issue 1, International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology. Scott Carlson (2006). Wanted: Female Computer-Science Students. The Chronicle of Higher Education (2006).

Author Information

Neil Anderson (presenting / submitting)

Queen's University Belfast

Computer Science

Belfast

Aidan McGowan (presenting)

Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom

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