Gender influences in studying Computer Science at University of Novi SadA. Šišarica, M. Ivanović
8th Workshop “Software Engineering Education and Reverse Engineering”, Durres, September 2008
Goals of the research
Exploring female undergraduate CS students`:
General success rate Professional confidence, ambitions and
interests Level of satisfaction with the choice of studies Attitudes and beliefs towards the gender
issue
Motivation
Considerable lack of female students at universities worldwide, despite the supporting acts made by academic community
For example: in the period 1995-2004 only 20% of B.A. degrees in CS in the USA were awarded to women
Serbia, and our Department, are facing the same problem
Motivation Often discontinue with the studies
Phenomenon of “the shrinking pipeline”: even though young girls could be attracted by CS, the higher level of education, the smaller is the proportion of female students
Consequence: inadequate involvement of women in IT industry and research
For instance: only 22% of the employees in the science related fields are female
Causes Intimidation with the male dominated nature of a
field
Absence of female role models
Lack of respect towards female professionals in the field
Lack of confidence in the abilities of female professionals
Causes
Social pressure not to study CS
Fear of combination of work and family life in IT sector being problematic
Women are more attracted to applications that benefit society than in programming itself, therefore, tend to lose interest when this aspiration is not satisfied
History
Female researchers and programmers have played a significant role in the founding of CS
40`s: women formed a majority of the first programmers during the WWII
50`s and 60`s: female researchers contributed heavily in, for example, the development of user interfaces
History What have influenced such a serious
deepening of the gender gap over the past few decades?
80`s: computers became a very popular hobby for young boys
Consequence: female students enter introductory CS classes with weaker programming skills and lack of computer related background
What finally brings women to the table?
Continuing presence of computers in a way that women can comprehend the versatility of computer use
Support and encouragement by the female professionals in the field
Help in understanding different career possibilities in IT
Awakening of interest in math and science from the early age
Related work
Gender related study, made recently at our department, compared success rates and enrollment data from the past 3 years of the male and female students
Technically-oriented courses (“Introduction to Programming”, “Software Engineering”): there was no significant difference in success gender wise
Related work Business-oriented courses (“Computer
Ethics”, “Software Project Management”): a slight difference in favor to women has been noted
Enrollment data: 1. “Business Informatics”: constant number2. “Theoretical Informatics”: number decreasing
each year3. “Teacher of Informatics”: not a single one in past
3 years
Motivation, once again
A lot of questions have been opened, this research came as in quest for some answers and solutions for improvement
Providing solid basis for future work
Collection of data June 2008, 60 undergraduate female students of
all CS directions present at our Department
In a form of questionnaire, which consisted of 20 questions; combined examination techniques:1. Descriptive answers
2. Circling the preferred answer
3. Responses given on a Likert scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree)
Statistics calculation: Origin 7.0
Questionnaire: general success evaluation Year of studies Average grade What had the most influence on your choice
of studies? The most and the least preferred subjects
Questionnaire: professional ambitions and interests On which job position do you imagine
yourself after comletion of your studies?
On which job position do you imagine yourself 10 years from now?
Questionnaire: gender related attitudes Is IT a suitable field for women?
Is it possible to have both successful career and family?
Results: Expression of personal ambitions regarding career
StatementMean value
Standard Deviation
Marks during studies are important to me.
3.66 1.05
I believe I am about to have a successful career.
4.31 0.78
I am worried about further course of my career after I complete my studies.
2.44 1.26
Results: Expression of attitude towards curriculum
StatementMean value
Standard Deviation
I am generally satisfied with my choice of studies.
4.27 0.86
I feel more comfortable with mathematical courses, rather than with CS courses.
2.87 1.59
Studies positively effected my intellectual development and interests.
4.29 0.95
Results: Expression of attitude towards the gender issue
StatementMean value
Standard Deviation
Professionally, I feel completely equal to my male colleagues.
4.37 0.91
Concern regarding the lack of women in IT is justified.
2.62 1.33
Stereotypes regarding women in IT do not manifest in real life.
4.04 1.21
Results: Average success ratesJune 2008Year / Average mark
6,00-7,00
7,00-8,00
8,00-9,00
9,00-10,00
Unknown
1st 11.11% 27.78% 33.33% 5.56% 22.22%
2nd - - 68.42% 31.58% -
3rd - 64.29% 35.71% - -
4th - 33.33% 44.44% 22.22% -
Results: Interest in taken courses1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year
The least preferred courses
Math. Logic and Algebra, Analysis, Financial Mathematics
Data Structures and Algorithms, Math. Logic and Algebra, Analysis, Linear Algebra
Data Structures and Algorithms, Numerical Analysis
Differential Equations, Linear Algebra
The most preferred courses
Web design, Introduction to E-business, Data Structures and Algorithms, Introduction to Programming
Computer Organization, Object-Oriented Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, Web Design, Data Bases
Data Bases, Web Design, E-learning, Information systems
Data Bases, Information Systems, Object-Oriented Programming
Conclusion Surprisingly high level of gender self-
awareness and confidence
Participants expressed serious and ambitious attitudes regarding their career objectives, feeling professionally equal to their male colleagues, with their marks to prove those claims
Present satisfaction with the choice of studies
Conclusion Even though the number of female students at
our department is dropping each year, those who manage to complete their studies, prove to be as competitive and skillful as their male peers
Technical skills are gender-blind?
CS as such “bears more promises for equity between genders in opportunities, positions and finally salary, than the other fields”?
Conclusion “It is important to understand a student’s
sense of identity both personally and with respect to the profession and gender, and to determine what students find to be most relevant and meaningful as they connect learning with life goals”
Becomes possible to employ liberative pedagogies more effectively and have more influence on students’ interest, motivation and performance
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