Gender and stereotypes in motivation to study computer programming for careers in multimedia

Abstract

A multimedia university program with relatively equal numbers of male and female students in elective programming subjects provided a rare opportunity to investigate female motivation to study and pursue computer programming in a career. The MSLQ was used to survey 85 participants. In common with research into deterrence of females from STEM domains, females displayed significantly lower self-efficacy and expectancy for success. In contrast to research into deterrence of females from STEM domains, both genders placed similar high values on computer programming and shared high extrinsic and intrinsic goal orientation. The authors propose that the stereotype associated with a creative multimedia career could attract female participation in computer programming whereas the stereotype associated with computer science could be a deterrent.

Gender neutrality improved completion rate for all

“…The masculine culture that surround technology can also affect career choice for women who stay in the field, where they are drawn to areas less associated with the masculine stereotype, such as user interfaces, quality assurance or project management (Faulkner, 2007;Rode, 2011;Doubé & Lang, 2012). This cultural gender problem with the subject matter and the way it is organised can be reflected by a technicist orientation toward analytical problem solving without involvement of social complexity (Faulkner, 2007).…”

“…There is no such thing as a cultural or gender-neutral design, but it is possible to implement a design that is inclusive and does not reinforce or endorse traditional values and stereotypes (Cassell, 2002;Viefers, Christie & Ferdos, 2006;Mills et al, 2010;Magee et al, 2011;Doubé & Lang, 2012;Cheryan, Meltzoff & Kim, 2011). The literature should be written from a student perspective, rather than male or female, so as not to marginalize any gender; when all students are central and diverse, so are female students (Cassell, 2002).…”

“…Intrinsic motivation is an important factor for females to choose to apply and persist in computer science, varying cultural and socio cultural contexts can thus cause women to move on to other domains on which to base their identity and self-esteem, such as fields that emphasizes social imperatives (Barnard et al, 2012;Doubé & Lang, 2012). The masculine culture that surround technology can also affect career choice for women who stay in the field, where they are drawn to areas less associated with the masculine stereotype, such as user interfaces, quality assurance or project management (Faulkner, 2007;Rode, 2011;Doubé & Lang, 2012).…”

“…In order to go beyond narrow and deterrent stereotypes of programming and programmers, the subject should not be presented and represented as a male interest and career, but rather as a practice and a craft that often is creative and social and where the coder is in a constant learning process (Doubé & Lang, 2012;Cheryan, Master & Meltzoff, 2015). A more facetted view of the subject that challenges incomplete and incorrect notions about the field could help enhance the perception of and interest in the subject, which in turn can have an impact on motivation and the decision to persist (Barnard et al, 2012;Ngambeki et al, 2012;Meyer & Marx, 2014;Dempsey et al, 2015).…”

¿cómo Ven Los Alumnos De Primaria La Profesión Informática? Influencia Del Género Y La Percepción De Su Capacidad

“…Efectivamente, en el curso 2010-11, el porcentaje de mujeres en las carreras de ingeniería y arquitectura era de un 27,05 %, mientras que en el curso 2013-14 estaba en un 25,93 %, habiéndose reducido paulatinamente en los cursos anteriores (MECD, 2015 A nivel social, se considera que las carreras técnicas, y en especial las de informática, son estudios con futuro. Esa percepción se ve reflejada en artículos periodísticos donde se habla de las necesidades futuras de profesionales de la informática o de la tendencia actual a incluir asignaturas de programación en el currículum de secundaria en comunidades autónomas como Madrid (Comunidad de Madrid, 2015) o Cataluña (Generalitat de Catalunya, 2015). De hecho, en los artículos periodísticos se plantea la situación como un problema, más cuando, como explican Villadangos y Labrador (2009), «los menores utilizan las nuevas tecnologías de forma frecuente y regular» (p. 81), una afirmación que también se ve reflejada en las estadísticas del Ministerio de Interior español (2014).…”