Influences of Students’ Precollege Out-of-School-Time Computer Science Activities and Opportunities on Their Career Interest in Computer Science (Poster 31)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 9:35 am
  In Poster Session: Out-of-School-Time SIG Posters

Abstract

There is a paucity of research on how out-of-school time CS activities affect students’ career interest in CS. We carried out a nationally representative survey study, collecting data from a sample of 6,044 U.S. college students. From 27 survey items about OST activities, we first selected a list of top-ranking influential variables through machine learning. Then, a multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between these top-ranking variables and first year college students’ career interests. It showed that students’ participation in unstructured CS-related activity (e.g., talking about CS with family or friends), along with the opportunities that students experienced during OST CS programs/activities (e.g., learning about CS careers) in Grades 9-12 boosted their CS career interests.

Authors

• Rongxiu Wu, Harvard University

• Sue Sunbury, Harvard University

• Gerhard Sonnert, Harvard University

• Philip M. Sadler, Harvard University