Tuesday, March 30
2:05-2:25 PM
EDT
Room 5

Are We Making Progress? Gender Perceptions of Identity, Math, Teamwork and Social Support in Introductory Computer Science

Full Paper (Live Presentation) ID: 58350
  1. aaa
    Yolanda Reimer
    Computer Science Department, University of Montana
  2. Michael Coe
    Cedar Lake Research Group, LLC

Abstract: Gender differences in perception and pursuit of computer science have been examined for many years and a wide variety of recommendations have been proposed to increase the number of women who engage in the field. Unfortunately, the percentage of women who obtain a bachelor’s degree in computer science remains stubbornly low, causing one to wonder how much progress, if any, we have made in our attempts to increase the appeal of CS to women. We present a current snapshot of how 120 students from eight different high schools perceive computer science based on four key metrics: identity, math, teamwork and social support. Our goal was to see if perceptions in these critical areas are equalizing between the two genders, and we discovered some encouraging signs that suggest advancements have been made. In particular, females do not see math as a barrier into CS and feel just as supported as males do by their social support system to pursue CS. However, females still need stronger identification with the field and teamwork opportunities should be more appealing to females.

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