From School to State: Interrogating Inequities in the Computing Education Ecosystem (Poster 5)

• In Event: Moving Toward Just and Equitable Access to Computing Education

Abstract

High school computer science (CS) remains one of the most segregated subjects in American schools. This research utilizes the CAPE framework (Fletcher & Warner, 2020) as a tool for interrogating and potentially addressing the systemic biases throughout the K-12 CS education ecosystem that reinforce and amplify inequities from the school to the state level. We model methods for analyzing and visualizing data regarding inequitable capacity for, access to, participation in and experiences of CS education which can be used to confront heretofore unexamined policies, pathways and practices that result in the marginalization of students of color, young women, and students who qualify for free or reduced priced meals. We discuss how practitioners within schools and districts who are champions for equitable CS education can leverage the CAPE Framework to address institutional barriers and how state level leaders can use CAPE as an advocacy tool to address systemic barriers to CS education through policy change.

Authors

• Jackie Corricelli, West Hartford Public Schools

• Carol Fletcher, University of Texas at Austin

• Miriam Jacobson, University of Texas at Austin

• Zhuoying Wang, University of Texas at Austin