scholarly journals Increasing Interest in Computer Science through Group Work: A Goal Congruity Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Kay Montoya ◽  
Allison Master ◽  
Sapna Cheryan
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Social Stereotypes ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees ◽  
Potential Factor ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Science Classes

Women’s underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is well established; however, there is much variation in women’s among STEM fields. Women received 60% of bachelor’s degrees in biology but only 18% of computer science degrees in 2009. One explanation for this difference may be social stereotypes of the fields. Male-dominated STEM fields are stereotyped as asocial, which may lead women to think that these fields will not give them opportunities to work with and help others. Three studies examined how communal goals, goals related to creating and maintaining interpersonal relationships, relate to interest in STEM fields. Study 1 (N = 120) found that women were more likely than men to endorse communal goals. Additionally, women were more interested in STEM classes they thought would fulfill their communal goals. Participants’ communal goal endorsement was negatively correlated with their interest in male-dominated STEM fields, like computer science. Study 2 (N = 296) examined group work as a potential factor that could affect perceptions of communal fulfillment in science classes. Classes with group work were perceived to be higher in communal goal fulfillment. Male-dominated STEM fields were perceived to have less group work than female-dominated STEM fields. Additionally, preference for group work was positively correlated with communal goals. Study 3 (N = 91) experimentally manipulated the collaboration policy of a computer science class syllabus, testing for changes in communal goal fulfillment and interest. The class with a pro-collaboration policy was perceived as having the most communal goal fulfillment, but these perceptions did not carry over to perceptions of the field of computer science as a whole. These studies suggest that increasing opportunities for communal experiences in computer science may help women to feel that computer science would fulfill their goals, increasing their interest in the field.

Navigating the Gendered Math Path

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-174
Author(s):  
Christina D. Weber ◽  
Angie Hodge
Keyword(s):  
Gender Norms ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Doing Gender ◽  
Women In Stem ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Good Science ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Mathematics Coursework

Using dialogues with our informants, as well as with each other, we explore how the men and women in our research make it through their mathematics coursework and, in turn, pursue their intended majors. Our research focuses on how students navigate what we call the gendered math path and how that path conforms to and diverges from traditional gender norms. Common themes of women's lower than men's self-perception of their ability to do mathematics, along with the divergent processes of doing gender that emerged in men's and women's discussions of their application of mathematics, reminded us of the continued struggles that women have to succeed in male-dominated academic disciplines. Although self-perception helps us understand why there are fewer women in STEM fields, it is important to understand how different forms of application of ideas might add to the diversity of what it means to do good science.

Beyond biology: The importance of cultural factors in explaining gender disparities in STEM preferences

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50
Author(s):  
Mona El-Hout ◽  
Alexandra Garr-Schultz ◽  
Sapna Cheryan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Gender Role ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Male Gender ◽  
Cultural Factor ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Male Gender Role

Gender disparities in participation in many STEM fields, particularly computer science, engineering, and physics, remain prevalent in Western societies. Stewart-Williams and Halsey contend that an important contributor to these disparities is gender differences in career-related preferences that are driven partly by biology. We argue that Stewart-Williams and Halsey understate the influence of cultural factors in shaping these preferences. We provide evidence for an important and overlooked cultural factor that contributes to gender disparities in computer science, engineering, and physics: masculine defaults. Masculine defaults exist when cultures value and reward traits and characteristics associated with the male gender role and see them as standard ( Cheryan & Markus, 2020 ). We provide examples of how changing computer science, engineering, and physics cultures can decrease gender disparities in participation. Finally, we discuss policy implications, specifically the importance of (1) recognizing that preferences for STEM are malleable and (2) addressing exclusionary cultures of STEM fields. Recognizing and changing exclusionary STEM cultures are important for creating a society that is more just and equitable.

APPLICATION OF EDUCATIONAL ROBOTICS IN THE PEDAGOGICAL PROCESS

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-102
Author(s):  
K.T. Ybyraimzhanov ◽  
◽  
E.S. Andasbayev ◽  
М.А. Auyelbek ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Wave Theory ◽  
Educational Robotics ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
Sound Waves ◽  
Electronic Components ◽  
Science Classes ◽  
Mechanical Movement ◽  
Robotics In Education

Educational robotics and its trends determine the innovative and creative educational context. This article discusses the current issues of rethinking educational robotics. Attention is focused on the potential for expanding the capabilities of educational robotics and the pedagogical capacity building of intelligent technologies in this area. Examples of the introduction of robotics in education, namely in physics and computer science classes, based on the Lego Education and Arduino are considered. Specific topics for the physics teachers are presented in the following section:" Mechanical movement "based on Lego;" Sound and sound waves. Speed wave", "Theory of electrical circuits" based on electronic components. For computer science teachers-programming on the Arduino IDE and drawing diagrams based on the Sprint Layout 6.0 program are offered. At the same time, the article can be a prototype for the application of educational robotics in other disciplines and the implementation of interdisciplinary connections.

The Impact of Social Stereotypes on the Integration Process of Arab Immigrants in European Countries

Diogenes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Stoyanova-Encheva ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
European Society ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Social Stereotypes ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Arab Immigrants ◽  
Sensitive Issue ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

The manifestation of stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination on ethnic, religious and/or gender grounds is an extremely sensitive issue in contemporary European society. It influences the perception of Arab immigrants in intergroup and interpersonal relationships in many European countries. Furthermore, the lack of awareness campaigns in the media and the existing ineffective policies lead to stigmatization of an entire homogeneous group of the population, hindering the processes of integration and socialization.

The “Invisible Work” of Women

2020 ◽  
pp. 154-172
Author(s):  
Mei-fen Kuo
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Informal Networks ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
Invisible Work ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Native Place ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores how Chinese cultural expressions of charity, based on interpersonal relationships (guanxi) and native place (tongxiang) ties, came to mix and interact with contrasting traditions of Christian charity practiced in a predominantly British milieu in colonial and federation Australia over the late 19th century and 20th centuries. We employ the term “philanthropic sociability” to capture the spirit of innovation that came to characterize a number of voluntary organizations in which Chinese Australian women were active organizers and innovators. By analyzing male-dominated writings and records of charitable fairs and public celebrations, the chapter argues that women undertook “invisible work” in voluntary organizations and built a variety of informal networks among them. Although their social impact was limited, women contextualized their participation in male-dominated activities in ways that cannot be explained in terms of patriarchal values. We find that the impact of women in Chinese- Australian voluntary organizations was not just about the feminizing of community formations but also about promoting philanthropic sociability in ways that traditional organizations could not match.

Women, Mathematics, and Computing

2011 ◽  
pp. 1303-1308
Author(s):  
Paula De Palma
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Peanut Butter ◽  
Testable Hypothesis ◽  
Betty Friedan ◽  
Good Question ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
Women In Information Technology ◽  
Cub Scouts ◽  
Open Question

In 1963, Betty Friedan wrote these gloomy words: The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. ... Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night – she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question—“Is this all?” The passage, of course, is from the The Feminine Mystique (Friedan, 1983, p. 15). Though it took another decade for the discontent that Friedan described to solidify into a political movement, even in 1963 women were doing more than making peanut butter sandwiches. They also earned 41% of bachelor’s degrees. By 1995, the number of degrees conferred had nearly tripled. The fraction going to women more than kept pace, at almost 55%. Put another way, women’s share of bachelor’s degrees increased by 25% since Betty Friedan first noticed the isolation of housewives. Consider two more sets of numbers: In 1965, 478 women graduated from medical school. These 478 women accounted for only 6.5% of the new physicians. Law was even less hospitable. Only 404 women, or just 3% of the total, received law degrees in 1965. By 1996, however, almost 39% of medical degrees and 43% of law degrees were going to women (Anderson, 1997). If so many women are studying medicine and law, why are so few studying computer science? That’s a good question, and one that has been getting a lot of attention. A search of an important index of computing literature, the ACM Digital Portal (ACM, 2005a), using the key words “women” and “computer,” produced 2,223 hits. Of the first 200, most are about the underrepresentation of women in information technology. Judging by the volume of research, what we can do to increase the numbers of women studying computer science remains an open question. While most investigators fall on one side or the other of the essentialist/social constructivist divide (Trauth, Quesenberry & Morgan, 2005), this article sidesteps the issue altogether in favor of offering a testable hypothesis: Girls and young women would be drawn to degree programs in computer science in greater numbers if the field were structured with the precision of mathematics. How we arrived at this hypothesis requires a look at the number of women earning degrees in computer science historically and in relation to other apparently similar fields.

Comparing Gender Differences in Computer Science and Management Information Systems Majors

2011 ◽  
pp. 109-115
Author(s):  
Sylvia Beyer
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Management Information Systems ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Management Information ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
It Workforce ◽  
Bachelor's Degrees

Why do so few women major in computer science (CS) or management information systems (MIS)? Are the reasons for women’s underrepresentation in these two disciplines the same? I will address these issues by reporting on my research on female and male undergraduates majoring in CS or MIS. I hypothesize that results from one area of information technology (IT), such as CS, do not necessarily generalize to other areas of IT, such as MIS. Structural barriers exist that keep women from advancement in IT careers (cf. Ahuja, 2002). However, an examination of these is beyond the scope of this article, which focuses on gender differences in IT students. In 2002 only 27.6% of U.S. Bachelor’s degrees in CS and 36.8% in MIS were conferred on women (U.S. Department of Education, 2002), limiting the number of women qualified to enter into the IT workforce. The problem of women’s under representation in IT is not limited to the U.S. Women are underrepresented in CS majors in other Western countries such as Canada (Gadalla, 2001), Germany (Huber, Reiff, Ben, & Schinzel, 2001), Norway (Berg, Gansmo, Hestflatt, Lie, Nordli, & Sorenson, 2002), and Ireland (MacKeogh, 2003). IT cannot afford to underutilize such a valuable and significant part of the workforce. Increasing the representation of women is imperative because “greater diversity among those who create computing technology ensures that those technologies are relevant to and usable by a wider range of people” (Roberts, 2003).

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