Supporting women’s persistence in computing and technology. A case for compulsory critical coding?
| Date | 13 May 2019 |
| Pages | 366-382 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-08-2018-0083 |
| Published date | 13 May 2019 |
| Author | Joanna Weidler-Lewis,Wendy DuBow,Alexis Kaminsky,Tim Weston |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Supporting women’s persistence
in computing and technology
A case for compulsory critical coding?
Joanna Weidler-Lewis
Krause Innovation Studio, The Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Wendy DuBow
National Center for Women and Information Technology,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Alexis Kaminsky
Department of Consulting, Kaminsky Consulting, LLC, Albuquerque,
New Mexico, USA, and
Tim Weston
Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society,
University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to investigate what factors influence women’s meaningful and equitable persistence
in computing and technology fields. It draws on theories of learning and equity from the learning sciences to
inform the understanding of women’s underrepresentation in computing as it investigates young women who
showed an interest in computing in high school and followed-up with them in their college and careers.
Design/methodology/approach –The mixed-methods approach compares data from quantitative
surveys and qualitative focus groups and interviews. The sample comes from database of 1,500 young
women who expressedinterest in computing by applying for an award for high schoolers. These womenwere
surveyed in 2013 and then again in 2016, with511 women identifying themselves as high schoolers in 2013
and then having graduated and pursued collegeor careers in the second survey. The authors also conducted
qualitativeinterviews and focus groups with 90 women from the samesample.
Findings –The findings show that multiple factors influence women’s persistence in computing, but the
best predictorof women’s persistence is access to early computingand programming opportunities. However,
access and opportunitiesmust be evaluated within broader social and contextualfactors.
Research limitations/implications –The main limitation is that the authors measure women’s
persistence in computing according to their chosen major or profession. This study does not measure the
impact of computationalthinking in women’s everyday lives.
Practical implications –Educatorsand policymakers should considerefforts to make Computer Science-
for-Alla reality.
Originality/value –Few longitudinal studies of a large sample of women exist that follow women interested
in computing from high school into college and careers particularly from a critical educational equity perspective.
Keywords Equity, STEM, Computing, Mixed-methods, Women, CS-for-All
Paper type Research paper
This research is supported by the National Science Foundation under CNS 1441071 and CNS 0813956.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
ILS
120,5/6
366
Received16 August 2018
Revised28 January 2019
Accepted28 January 2019
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.120 No. 5/6, 2019
pp. 366-382
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-08-2018-0083
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2398-5348.htm
Introduction
In 2016, then President Obama announced his vision for the “ComputerScience (CS) for All
Initiative”in which all students would have “hands-on computer science and math classes
that make them job-ready on day one”(Stateof the Union Address). The CS-for-Allinitiative
was part of a broader campaign to support and expand science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM)education and employment opportunities for American youth.We
are purposefully calling attention to this connection between CS and broader STEM
activities as our research has been investigating what role early computing interest and
opportunities for young women play in supporting their persistence in both computing and
other technology fields. In this article, we compare the results of a quantitative survey
measuring predictive factors for young women’s persistence in CS and non-CS college
majors, with the findings from qualitative interviews and focus groups of the same
population of young women. Specifically, we present research findings from surveys,
interviews and focus groups that followed-up with young women in college and early
careers who had shown an interest in computing during high school as demonstrated by
applying for the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT)
Aspirations in Computing(AiC) award.
The results of our qualitative and quantitative data differ. The qualitative data
demonstrate that multiple factors influence women’s persistence in CS including not only
women’s experiences but also how participation and persistence in computing is defined
(Weidler-Lewis et al., 2017). Analysis of our interviews and focus groups suggests that we
ought to have an expansive view of both CS participation and how to cultivate this
participation, which would encompass more than engaging in coding as the only outcome
measure of persistence. Our survey data, on the other hand, show that women who persist
not only in CS (e.g., those fields that require computational thinking) but also other non-CS
technology fields (i.e., computer graphic design) had access to programming opportunities
as youth (Weston et al.,2019). Thus, we draw a narrower conclusion that prior experience
with coding specifically –as opposed to other relatedtechnology experiences such as game
design or web development –is the strongest predictor of women’s persistence in both
computing and technology related majors. In this article, we analyze these seemingly
disparate findings withina coherent narrative and what this means for supportingwomen’s
persistence in computing and technology. We seek to understand what factors influence
women’s meaningful participation and persistence in computing? And, how do our
qualitative and quantitative findings on women’s persistence in computing complement
and/or contradicteach other?
Background
The underrepresentation of women in computing continues to be an unsolved yet highly
investigated problem. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the
percentage of women pursuing CS-related majors has declined over the past three decades
from 37 per cent of bachelor’s degrees earned in 1985 to 18.7 per cent in 2016 [National
Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), 2018].Although women enroll at
lower rates than men, there is little difference in attrition rates by gender in college degree
programs (Cohen and Deterding, 2009;Deeand Gershenson, 2017). Research has focused on
what spurs interest in computing such as early exposure, access to rigorous computing
opportunities and peer support (Google, 2014;Teague, 2002) and what hinders women’s
participation in computing, including gender-bias, micro-aggressions and lack of
community support (Camacho and Lord, 2011;Rosson et al., 2011;Smyth and Nosek, 2015).
The problem of underrepresentation has persisted for so long that numerous efforts have
Women’s
persistence in
computing and
technology
367
To continue reading
Request your trial