A revolution is under way in the teaching of computer science in schools in England - but it risks leaving girls and pupils from poorer backgrounds and ethnic minorities behind. That's the conclusion of academics who've studied data about the move from ICT as a national curriculum subject to computer science.
Four years ago, amid general disquiet that ICT was teaching children little more than how Microsoft Office worked, the government took the subject off the national curriculum. The idea was that instead schools should move to offering more rigorous courses in computer science - children would learn to code rather than how to do PowerPoint.
But academics at Roehampton University, who compile an annual study of computing education, have some worrying news. First, just 28% of schools entered pupils for the GCSE in computing in 2015. At A-level, only 24% entered pupils for the qualification.
Then there's the evidence that girls just aren't being persuaded to take an interest - 16% of GCSE computing entrants in 2015 were female and the figure for the A-level was just 8.5% . The qualification is relatively new and more schools - and more girls, took it in 2016 - but female participation was still only 20% for the GCSE and 10% for the A-level.
Why is it girls are not attracted to computer science? Is it some deeply embedded gender bias, or something else?
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Friday December 23 2016, @11:09AM
:D
Let me guess, "social pressures" are how patriarchy oppresses women.
Last I checked it was the feminists who were claiming that [theguardian.com]. So when are the liberals going to fight patriarchy to punish women just as much as men? Ans.: Never, because patriarchy and feminists are prostitute and her agent fighting for bigger cut.
Social pressures exist on men just as much on women. You know why men were pushed into engineering? Because engineering has always been seen as a physically laborious job with high risks of accidents. The very push to have more women in CS is EXACTLY because laymen are educated enough to know CS jobs require sitting down for hours and getting paid heavily. But feminism is all about finding new and novel ways to see women as victim and get some freebies thrown their way for it.