Exploring societal factors affecting the experience and engagement of first year female computer science undergraduates

Abstract

Despite computer science (CS) having many women associated with it historically, such as Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper, the proportion of female students completing computing degrees is steadily declining, particularly in the USA, UK, and several other Western countries. Many initiatives have been attempted to address this gender imbalance, but the majority have proved to be ineffectual and difficult to sustain in the long term. One important step in the notorious shrinking participation pipeline for CS is the first year of a university degree. The transition from school to university can be a difficult time for many students and, for females in CS, issues of readjusting expectations and of developing their identity within a predominantly male cohort may present an additional challenge.In this paper, we analyse data from the North American National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and discuss gender-distinct perceptions of the discipline and factors relating to retention of students, particularly female students, within the context of a small UK survey of first-year students' expectations at the start of their studies. We suggest several areas emerging from the investigation which have implications for CS curricula and teaching practice.

Using Social Cognitive Career Theory to Understand Why Students Choose to Study Computer Science

“…In her study, "gendered socialization" (more support for boys) and "technology anxiety" were identified as key factors. In the UK, Sinclair and Kalvala [55] found that gender stereotypes (computer science for boys) and cultural expectations (parents' discouragement) were the significant factors that could influence the decisions of females not to study CS. Cohoon and Aspray [15] also argued that social and cultural factors affect gender participation in computing fields, not biological gender differences.…”

An Investigation of Gender Differences in Computer Science Using Physiological, Psychological and Behavioural Metrics

“…There is a considerable disparity in the number of female students choosing to study Computer Science compared to male students at tertiary education level [3,4,14,31]. In the 1980's, Computer Science had one of the highest rates of gender balance in graduate programmes, but this has changed considerably in recent times [37].…”

“…Accompanying the website was a video that depicted female "scientists" conducting work in stiletto heels. This video was referred to as offensive and after criticism was removed [31]. Other initiatives such as Girls Who Code, SciGirls and GirlsInc have been created.…”

Eliminating gender inequity : why women choose computer science

“…1). Negative pressure from parents can have the greatest impact on girls not entering the field (Sinclair & Kalvala, 2015).…”

“…al., 2014;Powell, 2008;Tillberg & Cohoon, 2005). Due to the limited sample sizes, it is difficult to confirm the validity of these findings (Scragg & Smith, 1998;Sinclair & Kalvala, 2015). DuBow et al (2017) conducted a larger qualitative study (64 participants) which examined women's persistence in computer science.…”