"I Can Actually Be a Supersleuth": Promising Practices for Engaging Girls in Cybersecurity Education

• In Event: Gender and the STEM Fields

Abstract

Utilizing qualitative data gleaned from focus groups with adolescent girls participating in a cybersecurity program (N=38, mean age = 16.3), this study identifies promising practices for effectively engaging girls in cybersecurity education. Guided by ecological and social role theories, findings reveal that single-sex non-competitive settings with encouraging and supportive teachers; practical and applied activities; and the presence of female mentors are practices that contribute to girls’ increased interest in the field. Findings also suggest that the creative and collaborative processes inherent to cybersecurity may be particularly appealing to girls. Results have implications for educators, researchers and policy makers aiming to close gender gaps in the field of computer science and build interest in cybersecurity, an area of critical national need.

Authors

• Monique Jethwani, Columbia University

• Nasir Memon, New York University Polytechnic

• Won Seo, Columbia University