Women in Computing Science: Perceptions of Computing Science among Female Students in High Schools and Colleges

 

Surinder Dhanjal P. Eng. & Mila Kwiatkowska

Department of Computing Science

The University College of the Cariboo (UCC)

Kamloops, BC, Canada, V2C 5N3

sdhanjal@cariboo.bc.ca      mkwiatkowska@cariboo.bc.ca

                                    Phone: (250) 828-5153             Phone: (250) 371-5592

 

 

ABSTRACT

 

The authors have taught in various Computing Science Departments for more than 15 years. This is our observation that the number of females in computing science is very low as compared with the males in computing education, research & development, and IT in general. This gender imbalance leads to many negative social and economic consequences [1-15].  To study this phenomenon in a scientific manner, the authors decided to conduct a survey, spread over a time-frame of at least one year (2003-2004), directed at the following female audiences in Kamloops: Junior high school students from grades 8 to 10, Senior high school students from grades 11 and 12, UCC students taking first and second year computing science courses, UCC students taking upper level computing science courses. In this paper, the results of the first survey directed at 39 female students of grade 9 from four different schools in Kamloops are described. These three issues were used as primary indicators: Computer usage (secondary indicators: Frequency, Current types of usage, Desired computer skills), Emotions (secondary indicators: positive emotions, neutral emotions & negative emotions), and perceptions of gender roles. The results of the other three groups will be discussed in the future papers. We believe that this research is original in our region and we are contributing to a nation-wide evolving body of knowledge.

 

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

The authors have taught in various Computing Science Departments for more than 15 years. This is our observation that the number of females in computing science is very low as compared with the males in computing education, research & development, and IT in general. The ratio of males and females in the 8 courses taught by the authors during the current academic year 2002-2003 alone is quite alarming (see Table 1).

 

No

Course

Males

Females

Total

1

COMP 213

27

6

33

2

COMP 220

18

2

20

3

COMP 312

21

0

21

4

COMP 341

23

2

25

5

COMP 361

24

1

25

6

COMP 461

23

2

25

7

COMP 462

10

0

10

8

COMP 492

10

0

10

 

Table 1.  Numbers of female and male students in some computing science courses at UCC in 2002-2003

 

The ratio of the females graduating from two degree programs: BTACS (Bachelor of Technology in Applied Computing Science) and B.Sc. (Major in Computing Science) run at our institution is 6 females out of 29 graduates and 2 females out of 8 respectively. Since the programs started in 1998, the ratio of the females registered in these two programs is 7 females out of a total of 49 and 3 females out of a total of 40 respectively. The total number of female faculty members (1 out of 8) is also pointing very strongly towards the same direction: the proportional lack of females in Computing Science.

 

This gender imbalance leads to many negative social and economic consequences [1-15]. According to Shashaani [1-3]: “A society that believes technological understanding is primarily for males automatically excludes a large segment of the population from contributing more effectively to society’s advancement, and a valuable resource for the economy, is lost” [1]. Edward D. Lazowska addresses the issue of these negative consequences from a positive angle, by publishing a website statement [16]. According to this statement, six ‘Reasons for involving more women in CS’ are:

 

 

Several related questions that come to our mind are: “What is the fundamental reason behind this phenomenon?  Is it because the interest of females is low in the field of science and technology in general? Is it due to some misperceptions about the females in science and technology? Is this problem specific to the University College of the Cariboo (UCC) or is it specific only to computing science at UCC?”

 

 

2. METHODOLOGY

 

To study this phenomenon in a scientific manner, the authors decided to conduct a survey, spread over a time-frame of at least one year (2003-2004), directed at the following female audiences in Kamloops:

·         Junior high school students from grades 8 to 10

·         Senior high school students from grades 11 and 12

·         UCC students taking first and second year computing science courses

·         UCC students taking upper level computing science courses

 

In this paper, the results of the first survey directed at 39 female students of grade 9 from four different schools in Kamloops are described. The results of the other three groups will be discussed in the future papers.

 

 

3. RESULTS OF THE SURVEY

 

We will consider four groups of students: grades 8 - 10, grades 11-12, first and second year university, and third and fourth year university. The questionnaires will be age specific. The first questionnaire was administered to a group of 39 female students from grade 9. The age ranged from 13 to 15 years, with the mean value of 14.07. The results of this survey are discussed below.

 

3.1 DESIGN OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

 

The most important component of this paper was the design of the questionnaire (see Appendix A). We selected the questions to address the following issues:

1.        Computer usage 

a.        Frequency

b.       Current types of usage

c.        Desired computer skills

2.        Emotions

3.        Perception of gender roles.

 

These three issues were used as primary indicators as follows:

 

3.1.1.         Computer Usage

 

Higher computer usage implies higher potential interest in computer related education and career. In this category we wanted to measure these three secondary indicators:

 

The questions 1, 2, and 5 were designed to measure the above indicators. 

 

3.1.2.         Emotions

 

In this category, we used an open ended question (question 3) so that we can elicit a wide spectrum of emotional perspectives with reference to computers.  We divided emotions into three secondary indicators: positive emotions, neutral emotions & negative emotions. Positive emotions indicate higher interest whereas negative or neutral emotions indicate lower interest.

 

3.1.3.         Perception

 

In this category, we wanted to find out how the female students perceive their role in the computer field.  The common misconception seems to be that the computer field is man’s field [1-7]. We designed question 4 to address this issue. Whereas we disguised our intent while designing questions 1, 2, 3, and 5; we were very direct in this question because we considered this to be the strongest indicator out of all the primary indicators chosen by us. 

 

We did not include any career-oriented questions in this questionnaire because grade 9 students are unlikely to be ready for a career selection. The contents of the questionnaires for other groups will be modified on an as-needed basis.

 

3.2  RESULTS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE

 

3.2.1.         Computer usage

 

Question 1: “How often do you use a computer?” (single answer)

 

 

Frequency of usage

No. of responses

Percentage

Every day      

28

    71.9 %

2-3 times a week  

8

    20.5 %

Once a week  

2

      5.1%

Less than once a week

1

      2.5%

Never

0

      0.0%

Total:

39

  100.0%

 

Question 2: “You use the computer mostly because ______” (multiple answers chosen from a list)

 

Type of usage

No. of responses

Percentage

I do my homework on the computer 

27

69.2%

I use the Internet                                 

27

69.2%

I use e-mail                                           

33

84.6%

Other reasons                          

28

71.8%

I don’t use computer                          

0

 0.0%

 

 

Other Types of Usage

No. of responses

Games

9

E-mail

9

Chatting

4

Internet/Web research

4

Other

2

 

Question 5: “What would you like to learn about computers, programming, Web? Please list three desired skills.”

 

This question was answered by 23 students providing a total of 51 responses. Out of these 51 responses, we  categorized 47 specific responses into 12 sub-categories (listed below in decreasing order of frequency) and 4 non-specific responses (for example: “lots of stuff”) into a sub-category called “other”:

 

1.        Web page design (x 10)

2.        Building computer (hardware)  (x 8)

3.        Drafting (x 5)

4.        Research using Web resources (x 5)

5.        Editing pictures  (x 5)

6.        Programming (x 4)

7.        Designing (x 3)

8.        Animation  (x 2)

9.        Typing (x 2)

10.     Make computer games

11.     Web security

12.     Word processor

 

3.2.2.         Emotions

 

Question 3: “Try to finish the following sentence and describe how do you feel, when you use a computer: 

When I use computers, I feel mostly ___”

 

Out of the 39 responses, we divided emotions into three secondary indicators (positive emotions, neutral emotions & negative emotions) as follows:

 

3.2.2.1        Positive emotions (28 answers)

 

The following emotions were considered positive (listed alphabetically):

 

 

 

3.2.2.2    Neutral emotions (5 answers)

 

The following emotions were considered neutral (listed alphabetically):

 

 

3.2.2.3.   Negative emotions (5 answers)

 

The following emotions were considered negative (listed alphabetically):

 

 

Emotions

No. of Responses

Percentage

Positive

28

   71.9%

Neutral

5

   12.8%

Negative

5

   12.8%

No Response

1

     2.5%

Total:

39

 100.0%

 

3.2.3.      Perception

 

Question 4: Do you think that the computer field is a man's field?  

 

Degree of Belief

No. of Responses

Percentage

strongly agree  

0

   0.0%

agree   

1

   2.5%

disagree

5

 12.8%

strongly disagree

33

 84.6%

Total:

39

100.0%

 

 

3.3                 ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS

3.3.1 Computer usage

 

The results from question 1 indicate that all girls in grade 9 use computers at least once a week, about 92% use it a least 2-3 times a week, and about 72% use it every day. This indicates a very high interest in computers.

The results from question 2 indicate that about 69% of the population use computers to do their homework, about 69% use the Internet, about 84% use e-mail, and about 72% use for other reasons including games, MSN e-mail, chatting, and Web research. This indicates a wide variety of usage and consequently a very high interest in computers. The results from question 5 indicate a wide variety of desired computer skills as follows: Web page design, Building computer (hardware), Drafting, Research using Web resources, Editing pictures, Programming, Designing, Animation, Typing, Make computer games, Web security, Word processor, and others. This wide range indicates a very strong interest in the computer field. 

 

3.3.2             Emotions

The results from question 3 indicate that 72% responses represent positive emotions, whereas only 25% responses reflect negative and neutral emotions. This indicates a very high level of confidence among the respondents.

 

3.3.3             Perception

The results from question 4 indicate that about 97% strongly disagree or disagree with the stereotyped perception that “computer field is a man’s field”, and only 2.5% agree. Contrary to most of the other surveys [1-15] studied by the authors, this result was the most startling outcome of our survey.

 

 

4.  FUTURE PLANS

 

We plan to conduct an extensive survey of the students and related audiences. The authors recognize that the effectiveness of the survey depends upon the sample size. The larger the sample, the better will be the final outcome. However, the larger sample will require a lot of time. Therefore, the future surveys will spread over a time-frame of at least one year (2003-2004), and will accommodate as large an audience as possible. In addition to the four groups from Kamloops mentioned in the methodology, we intend to expand the scope of our survey to areas outside of Kamloops in the following manner:

 

 

(During this research, we realized that the issue explored by us is high profile, and is being addressed in a number of studies and initiatives around the world [1-16], including an initiative in British Columbia at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Therefore, it makes sense to expand our study to include other universities in BC as this project progresses).

 

The proposed survey will provide measurements to describe the female perceptions towards these two roles:

 

The professional role will be analyzed using these four parameters:

 

The perception about the students in computing science will be analyzed using these three parameters:

·         workload (time spent in class and outside of the class)

·                                 level of difficulty of courses

·                                 types of personalities among students.

 

The authors are aware that the similar studies/surveys have been conducted by other researchers [1-16]. Some examples are:

 

The final results of our survey will be compared with other papers (for example [1-15]) dealing with the same or similar issue(s).

 

 

5.  CONCLUSION

 

This paper (intended to be a discussion paper) addresses the issue that the number of females in computing science is very low as compared with the males in computing education, research & development, and IT in general. This gender imbalance leads to many negative social and economic consequences [1-15]. To study this phenomenon in a scientific manner, a survey directed at 39 female students from grades 9 was conducted. Senior high school students from grades 11 and 12, UCC first and second year students currently taking computing science courses, and UCC students taking upper level computing science courses will be dealt with in future.

 

We conclude that the issue of gender imbalance explored by us is high profile, it is not specific to the University College of the Cariboo (UCC) only or it is not specific only to computing science at UCC, but it is an international phenomena, and consequently, it is being addressed in a number of studies and initiatives around the world [1-16].

 

We believe that this research is original in our region and we are contributing to a nation-wide evolving body of knowledge.


 

REFERENCES

 

1.        L. Shashaani, “Gender-Based Differences in Attitudes Toward Computers”, Computers and Education, Pergamon Press Ltd., Volume 2(2), 1993, pp.169-181.

 

2.        L. Shashaani, “Gender-Differences in Computer Experience and Its Influence on Computer Attitudes”, Journal of Educational-Computing Research, Volume 11(4), 1994, pp.347-367.

 

3.        L. Shashaani, “Gender-Differences in Computer Attitudes and Use Among College Students”, Journal of Educational-Computing Research, Volume 16(1), 1997, pp.37-51.

 

4.        Janet Morahan-Martin, Alan Olinsky & Phyllis Schumacher, “Gender Differences in Computer Experience, Skills and Attitudes Among Incoming College Students”, Journal of Educational-Computing Research, Volume 11, Number 4, 1994.

 

5.        Phyllis Schumacher & Janet Morahan-Martin, “Gender, Internet and Computer Attitudes and experiences”, Computers in Human Behavior, 17, 2001, pp. 95-110.

 

6.        Leslie J. Francis, “Measuring Attitude Toward Computers Among Undergraduate College Students: The Effective Domain”, Computers and Education, Pergamon Press Ltd., Volume 20, Number 3, 4/93.

 

7.        Lior Avraham, “Differences in the way males and females perceive computers”, website: http://eserver.org/courses/spring97/76100o/contributions/avraham.

 

8.        Monique Volman, “Gender-Related Effects of Computer and Information Literacy Education”, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Association, 1995.

 

9.        Herman G. Weller, Judi Repman & Gene E. Rooze, “The Relationship of Learning Behavior and Cognitive Style in Hypermedia-Based Instruction: Implication for Design of HBI”, Computers in Schools, Haworth Press Inc., Volume 10, 4/94.

 

10.     Panel Discussion: "Ethical and Professional Issues in Computing", SIGCSE Bulletin, ACM Press, Volume 27, Number 1, March 1995, pp.366-367.

 

11.     William Haliburton, Mack Thweatt & Nancy J. Wahl, “Gender Differences in Personality Components of Computer Science Students: A Test of Holland’s Congruence Hypothesis”, SIGCSE 1998, Atlanta, GA, USA, ACM Press, 1995, pp.77-81.

 

12.     Janet Carter & Tony Jenkins, “Gender and Programming: What’s Going On?”, ITiCSE 1999, 6/99, Cracow, Poland, ACM Press, 1999

 

13.     Tor Busch, “Gender differences in self-efficacy and attitudes toward computer”, Journal of Educational-Computing Research, Volume 12(2), 1994, pp.147-158.

 

14.     Manju K. Ahuja, “Information Technology and the Gender Factor”, SIGCPR 1995, Nashville, TN,  USA, ACM Press, 1995, pp.156-166.

 

15.      Denise Gurer & Tracy Camp (Project Investigators), “Investigating the Incredible Shrinking Pipeline for Women in Computing Science”, Final Report-NSF Project 9812016, National Science Foundation.

 

16.     Edward D. Lazowska, Web site: http://cra.org/Policy/testimony/lazowska-5.html, October 1999.

 

 

 


 

Grace Murray Hopper, the Mother of Cobol   (picture obtained from www.sdsc.edu/Hopper/IMAGES-old/ghopper.gif)Appendix A

 

WOMEN IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

 

 

An Information Technology Conference for Young Women

 

Computers and Young Women

 

Please answer the following questions. The organizers will use the data to prepare for the next conference. The answers will be compared with other groups of students (grade 11-12) and used in the UCC study on “Women and Computers”.

 

Please specify your age _________ 

 

1.        How often do you use a computer? (check one box)

        Every day

        2-3 times a week  

        Once a week  

        Less than once a week

        Never

 

2.        You use the computer mostly because (check as many boxes as you need)

        I do my homework on the computer 

        I use the Internet for school projects 

        I use e-mail 

        Other reasons, please describe ________________

        I don’t use computer

 

3.        Try to finish the following sentence and describe how do you feel, when you use a computer: 

 

When I use computers, I feel mostly _________________________________

 

4.        Do you think that the computer field is a man's field?  

 

         strongly agree  

         agree   

         disagree

         strongly disagree

 

5.        What would you like to learn about computers, programming, Web? Please list three desired skills in order of their importance to you:

1. _______________  

 

2. _______________

  

3. _______________