Minoritized Students’ Ideas for Addressing Computing’s Lack of Diversity by Supporting Families and Schools

• In Event: Voices of Change: Black and Latine Students’ Perspectives on Equitable Computer Science Education

Abstract

There are currently many efforts to increase equitable access to computer science (CS) education, and particularly to address the lack of diversity in the field of computing (e.g., NSF CS for All initiatives, equity-centered curricula like Exploring Computer Science, Computer Science Teachers Association standards and equity fellows, Code.org efforts, etc.). However, little is known about what students think should be done to address the lack of women and low-income communities of color in tech. In this research, Black and Latine high school students, experiencing CS classes for the first time, share their perspectives on why tech lacks diversity and how K-12 schools can address this equity issue in computing.

This work builds on efforts outside of CS-specific education research focused on “authorizing students’ perspectives,” in which adults cede their power to students so that they may participate in the discourse shaping their educational experiences (Cook-Sather, 2002; Gore 1992; Heilbrun 1998). These student voice studies create an opportunity for minoritized people to impact their schools and actively design hybrid spaces for more just education experiences (Gonzalez, et al., 2016). Employing an asset-based lens that embraces students’ funds of knowledge can be critical to improving teaching practice, curricula, and relationships between schools and their communities in computing (e.g., Moll et al., 1992; Denton & Borrego, 2021). In these ways, this work approaches students’ perspectives as critical to reimagining CS education, particularly for minoritized students.

This qualitative study includes an analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 60 students from the West Coast (n=30), Midwest (n=14), and Deep South (n=16). Interviews were collected following students’ first experiences with CS coursework in high school, grounding students’ perspectives in recent history with computing. All participants come from communities underrepresented in computing, including young women, Black, and Latine students from low-income urban and rural contexts. Data sources were analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), surfacing patterns in the interviews through the constant comparative method (Glaser, 1965). Authors collaboratively coded every interview to identify the themes described below.

Findings reveal that students believe computing’s lack of diversity is shocking and saddening, but also a logical result of the racism and sexism they have both experienced and know is rooted in US history, in which women and people with darker skin have been seen and treated as inferior to white men. They shared that not enough people in their communities have access to CS education and many minoritized people do not see the value of pursuing CS education and careers because neither they nor their families have learned about its value. To address these challenges, students offer suggestions for not only increasing student access to CS education, but also for supporting teachers in centering these issues in their classrooms, and for teaching families about computing career pathways.

These students’ perspectives can inform why educators should center these issues of underrepresentation in CS classrooms, how to educate families about CS, and how to create new lines of access to computing for all.

Authors

• Jean J. Ryoo, University of California - Los Angeles

• Wei Wei, University of California - Los Angeles

• Raisa Blazquez, Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative