Abstract
Background and Context. Increasing gender diversity in the field of Computer Science (CS) benefits the economy as well as gender equality. However, several obstacles - including underdeveloped CS interests, lack of programming experience, and a misfit with the stereotypes of computer scientists - prevent women from entering the field. Although these barriers develop from an early age, research focused on children is limited. Furthermore, limited work is done within European countries. Objectives. In this study, we research the interest children aged 7 to 14 have in a CS career. Additionally, we look into whether children with different characteristics have a different interest in CS. As such our research question: How does children's interest in a CS career differ based on their a) age, b) gender, c) computer interests, d) programming experience, and e) stereotypical beliefs? Method. We collected data from 200 children in a science museum located in the Netherlands. We gathered data on their gender, age, computer interests, programming experience, stereotypical beliefs and interest in becoming a programmer - as representative of a CS career. We used self-reported closed questions and reduced-length Child Implicit Association Tests. Findings. In general, the participating children are not interested in a CS career. We did find several characteristics related to a higher interest in a CS career: being a boy, having an interest in computers or video gaming, gaining programming experience at home or at an out-of-school activity, and the belief that programmers are social. Implications. To increase the participation of women in CS, we suggest motivating girls more to engage in computer and programming activities - especially out-of-school activities - while ensuring that these activities are gender inclusive.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | ICER 2023 |
Subtitle of host publication | Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research V.1 |
Editors | Kathi Fisler, Paul Denny, Diana Franklin |
Publisher | Association for Computing Machinery, Inc |
Pages | 245-255 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Volume | 1 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781450399760 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2023 |
Event | 19th Annual ACM International Computing Education Research Conference, ICER 2023 - Chicago, United States Duration: 7 Aug 2023 → 11 Aug 2023 |
Conference
Conference | 19th Annual ACM International Computing Education Research Conference, ICER 2023 |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Chicago |
Period | 7/08/23 → 11/08/23 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 Owner/Author.
Keywords
- age
- career orientation
- computer interests
- computing
- gender
- programming experience
- stereotype