High School Computing Education: The Landscape of Equity-Enabling Research (Fundamental)
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
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Bart's Big Plan: Engaging High Schoolers in Engineering Adventures ... Ay Caramba!
- Tagged Division
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Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE)
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Permanent URL
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https://strategy.asee.org/47526
Paper Authors
Julie M. Smith CSEdResearch.org
Dr. Julie M. Smith is a senior education researcher at CSEdResearch.org. She holds degrees in Curriculum & Instruction and Software Development. She also completed a doctoral program in Learning Technologies at the University of North Texas. Her research focus is computer science education, particularly the intersection of learning analytics, learning theory, and equity and excellence. She was a research assistant at MIT’s Teaching Systems Lab, working on a program aimed at improving equity in high school computer science programs; she is also co-editor of the SIGCSE Bulletin.
Monica McGill
Institute for Advanced Engineering
orcid.org/0000-0002-3096-9619
Monica McGill is President & CEO of CSEdResearch.org and a Temporary Research Specialist at Knox College. Her area of scholarship is K-12 computer science and cybersecurity education research with a current focus on diversity and improving the quality of research.
Abstract
Motivation: Demographic disparities in computing instruction contribute to a tech workforce and a society where the ever-increasing role of computing is controlled by an unrepresentative minority. One facet of the solution is a body of computing education research that studies the experiences of all students, not just those who come from groups that have traditionally studied computing. Little previous work analyzes the entire landscape of equity-focused research specific to high school computing.
Goal: The goal of this paper is to answer the research question: What gaps in computing education research exist that may be contributors to the lack of equity in high school computing?
Methodology: Using a curated data set of research articles (n = 231) focused on K12 computing education, articles including high school students as study participants were analyzed to determine which dimensions of high quality and/or equity-enabling research were included.
Results: The yearly growth rate for studies of high school computing averaged over 40% during the past decade. While that research has indicators of being increasingly focused on equity, there are also substantial gaps in the research. For example, while studies that specify student disability status have been increasing, they are still less than 5% of all studies. And while most studies adhere to the practices of high quality research (e.g., specifying a research question), there is some room for improvement.
Implications: Awareness of the landscape of recent computing education research that focuses on high school students will enable researchers to align their efforts with the needs of all students, including those who are less likely to study computing.
Smith, J. M., & McGill, M. (2024, June), High School Computing Education: The Landscape of Equity-Enabling Research (Fundamental) Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/47526
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