Promoting Gender Parity in Secondary CS Courses: Strategies, Challenges, and Resources Needed

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Student Retention in the Midst of School Exclusion and Patriarchal Whiteness (Table 8)

Abstract

This study investigates practices and policies that promote young women’s participation in Computer Science (CS) education by surveying educators at Texas secondary schools with at least 50% female representation in CS classes, which comprise only 2% of secondary schools in the state. The findings from this study highlight the extent to which educators in these schools implement various practices to increase women’s participation while identifying challenges and barriers to increasing enrollment and the supports needed to promote young women’s success in CS. Notable practices to promote gender parity include requiring all students to have some exposure to CS, allowing CS to count as a foreign language requirement, highlighting the contributions of women in the CS field, and including collaborative learning.

Authors

• Madeline Haynes, University of Texas at Austin

• Mona Baniahmadi, University of Texas at Austin

• Lisa Garbrecht, University of Texas at Austin

• Carol Fletcher, University of Texas at Austin

• Alejandro Madrigal, University of Texas at Austin