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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: 3, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Friday December 23 2016, @12:58PM
I don't personally care if there's a gender imbalance in this or any other profession. I am not concerned that most pre-K teachers are women, nor that most CompSci grads are men.
As a purely intellectual exercise, then, why is there such a disparity in CompSci? It's not because university programs and companies don't go out of their way to recruit women. They do. But in a discipline that seems to me quite gender neutral in and of itself, there is little appeal in it for women (American ones, at least). There are other disciplines like medicine or law that feel equally gender neutral, and which were previously male-dominated, but which now have a much more equal share of men and women. It was previously said of those professions, too, that it was natural for them to be dominated by men because women weren't rational enough, or able to control their emotions enough, or couldn't bear the indelicacy of blood and guts.
It doesn't matter one whit in and of itself if there were few women in medicine, law, or CompSci if they simply weren't interested in those areas, and they could perfectly well without barriers enter them if they chose to. Anything else would be unjust because everyone ought to have equal opportunity in the Pursuit of Happiness.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 23 2016, @07:19PM
^^ THIS ^^
Don't stand in any woman's way - whether she wants to do computer science, become a Marine Corps combat commander, or if she chooses to stay at home, and raise babies. Just don't presume to tell the woman what she may do, or can do, or is prohibited from doing.
O'bummer and the DNC don't want women to stay home and raise babies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksHIlbIWhgQ [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Nollij on Friday December 23 2016, @09:36PM
The question that keeps being raised is why - the studies haven't shown that men are better at it, just that men are far more interested.
Given that these are high-paying, stable (expanding, even) careers, it does make one wonder why women shun the profession in such numbers.
It's also pretty clear that this disinterest takes hold long before the college level.
Strangely, even though there are countless industries that rely on directly marketing to young women and girls, I haven't seen any of them weigh in on the subject.
Seems to me that companies that exist to sell glittery lip gloss would know something about how to sell this to teen (and even pre-teen) girls.