Abstract
Over the last decades, gender issues in Computer Science (CS) as well as in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines have captured the attention of many researchers. Research in several countries has revealed that females are underrepresented in CS from the early students’ years to work years. Yet, in Greece, the gender representation in CS education has not been examined on a systematic basis. Additionally, research has revealed that, among other factors, stereotypes and school education affect females’ engagement in CS. Although there is not consistent evidence in CS, it seems that socially constructed ‘myths’ and negative stereotypes about females’ cognitive skills and academic ability in CS deter them from entering the field. Regarding school education, current empirical research in Computing Teachers’ (CTs) gender-related beliefs and practices is scarce despite the existence of strong evidence, mainly from STEM fields, that teachers’ gendered beliefs and practi ...
Over the last decades, gender issues in Computer Science (CS) as well as in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines have captured the attention of many researchers. Research in several countries has revealed that females are underrepresented in CS from the early students’ years to work years. Yet, in Greece, the gender representation in CS education has not been examined on a systematic basis. Additionally, research has revealed that, among other factors, stereotypes and school education affect females’ engagement in CS. Although there is not consistent evidence in CS, it seems that socially constructed ‘myths’ and negative stereotypes about females’ cognitive skills and academic ability in CS deter them from entering the field. Regarding school education, current empirical research in Computing Teachers’ (CTs) gender-related beliefs and practices is scarce despite the existence of strong evidence, mainly from STEM fields, that teachers’ gendered beliefs and practices may (negatively) affect females’ engagement, motivation and career decisions. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is mainly threefold: (a) to investigate systematically the gender representation in CS education in Greece, (b) to study gender differences in preferences and performance in CS courses, and (c) to examine CTs’ gender-related beliefs and practices uncovering any possible associations. To this end, three individual studies were designed. Thus, a longitudinal embedded-single case study (Study1) focused on the investigation of gender representation in Greek secondary CS and STEM education in terms of teachers, as well as in Greek tertiary CS and STEM education in terms of students/graduates and faculty members, during the decade 2003-12. Drawn on quantitative data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority, this study revealed that: (a) female teachers/students/graduates/faculty members were less prevalent than their males counterparts in CS secondary and tertiary education; (b) female teachers were better represented in CS compared to the rest STEM disciplines in secondary education; (c) the percentages of female students/graduates/faculty members in CS Tertiary education were the lowest among STEM disciplines; (d) there was no pipeline shrinkage between female freshmen and graduates of undergraduate studies in CS and there was also no female dropout from undergraduate studies to master’s degree studies in Greek CS departments; (e) female faculty members in CS were better represented in the position of lecturer, while higher ranks were dominated by males. In addition, a single case study (Study2) examined gender differences in terms of student preferences and performance in undergraduate courses included in the entire curriculum of a CS department. Exploiting data from a CS department in Greece, the quantitative analysis of 89 graduate degrees revealed that: (a) there are not striking difference in males’ and females’ performance, except a few courses in which males perform better than females at math and programming, while females perform better in courses related to interfaces between people and computers, and (b) at a statistically significant level, males preferred courses related to hardware/software engineering, while females preferred courses regarding theoretical CS, humanities and social sciences. Finally, a single case study (Study3) investigated CTs’ gender-related beliefs, examined their classroom practices and explored any associations between their expressed beliefs and their actual practices in class. Twenty CTs participated and their beliefs were elicited through structured interviews, while their practices were investigated through non-participant observations, using structured observation sheets. The qualitative analysis of the CTs’ interviews revealed that CTs expressed several empowering/constraining, gender-neutral/gendered and gender-sensitive/gender-insensitive beliefs, and in reality, a mix of (inconsistent) beliefs do seem to coexist in the minds of most of them. In terms of CT gender, males expressed mostly constraining, gendered beliefs in favor of boys, as well as several gender-insensitive beliefs, whereas females expressed mostly empowering, gender-neutral and gender-sensitive beliefs. The quantitative analysis of the class observations showed that CTs’ practices fall into five different teaching profiles; a gender neutral one, another two favoring boys on the whole, and the last two in favor of girls on the whole. The investigation of the relationships between CTs’ expressed beliefs and their practices indicated that some of their beliefs are suppressed by others more central beliefs, mostly gendered beliefs, which are reflected in their practices. The analysis also showed that, based on their beliefs and practices, there are those CTs who tend to: (a) maintain the gender gap; (b) broaden the gender gap; (c) bridge the gender gap. It is hoped therefore that this work will serve as a valuable reference for CTs, CTs educators, CS students, CS faculty and researchers in order to raise their awareness of the gender gap issue in CS so as to make those critical changes to reverse the situation and eventually bring to an end this vicious cycle.
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