Attracting Girls to ICT Studies and Careers: A Snapshot of Strategies

Iwona Miliszewska and Aidan MooreVictoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Iwona.Miliszewska@vu.edu.au Aidan.Moore@vu.edu.au

Abstract

This paper reviews a range of strategies aimed at improving female participation in ICT studies and careers and illuminates the crossovers that occur as governments, universities, industry and other actors seek effective solutions to a dilemma that exceeds a simple dichotomy of gender and technology. Whilst the particular milieu for which this review has been conducted – an educationally and otherwise disadvantaged area of Melbourne, Australia – entails a focus on girls from families with low socio-economic status (SES), and on those exposed to educational disadvantage, the “problem” of girls and technology is by no means limited to those groups. The review and its proposed recommendations therefore aim to assist secondary level educators, educational authorities, ICT industry and ICT policy developers in their efforts to attract more girls to ICT studies.

Keywords: ICT, girls, educational disadvantage, ethnicity, low SES, international solutions, secondary schools, national initiatives.

IntroductionAn abridgement of Miliszewska and Moore’s (2010) review of strategies aimed at improving female participation in ICT studies and careers, this paper has three specific goals: to outline the “problem” of girls and ICT; to provide an overview of approaches commonly used to correct that “problem”; and, to provide educators with insights that may be helpful in developing and implementing solutions aimed at reversing low female participation rates in ICT studies. This paper highlights some proven intervention strategies and their potential for replication, and stresses the need for educators to learn from those approaches that enjoy perhaps only temporary success. By taking account of initiatives deemed to be more and less successful, this paper suggests, educators may benefit from those practices and elements that demonstrate achievement, whilst avoiding and learning from those approaches and components that are seemingly less useful.

The “Problem” of Girls and ICTAt first blush, the “problem” of girls and ICT may appear rather straightforward: a simple question of aversion to technology and machinery, particularly when the two elements are combined. It is perhaps for this reason that policy-makers frequently err in handing down or rolling out one-size-fits-all solutions which often exacerbate the conundrum. As Jøsok Gansmo (2003, pp. 10-11) found when researching the effects of policy-driven initiatives in Norway, schools can easily adopt a disobedient stance, arguing that they ‘have more important issues to deal with’; ‘simply cannot follow all… requests from above’; lack the necessary equipment or personnel; that students have access to better equipment at home; or that ‘digital and gender divides will diminish in due course because of the constant diffusion of the technology in society.’

At the school level, gender awareness among teaching staff can be patchy, resulting in girls receiving inappropriate signals around the intersection of technology and gender (Butler, 2000; Faulkner & Stewart, 2003). Moreover, the task of simply introducing ICT in the classroom can be so consuming

as to prevent teachers from engaging with ‘the theme of ICT and diversity’ as it relates to gender, ethnic and other classroom differences (Volman, Van Eck, Heemskerk & Kuiper, 2005, p. 52). Compounding these challenges is the way in which teachers and school administrators often fixate on the number and types of equipment at their disposal, whether the equipment works properly, whether Internet access is available, and/or the extent to which students are developing basic computing skills and are becoming technologically proficient (Volman, Van Eck, Heemskerk & Kuiper, 2005). The result, as Margolis, Jellison Holme, Estrella, Goode, Nao and Strumme (2003) and Heemskerk, Brink, Volman and Ten-Dam (2005, p. 2) respectively found in the American and European contexts, is that whilst poorer schools and those with diverse ethnic populations often emphasise ‘drill and practice activities’, their richer, ethnically homogenous counterparts are ‘more likely to use advanced technology tools.’

A central challenge, as Teague and Clarke (1993) long ago argued, is to overcome the negative stereotypes in which computer-related work is viewed as antisocial, isolating, repetitive and machine-oriented. This is difficult, Walker (2005, p. 13) contended, when schools continue to ‘reproduce and legitimise dominant gender-science relationships programming boys and girls for clearly defined roles’, universities continue to entice young women into computing courses that are not designed with them in mind, and workplaces continue to use women’s ‘sexuality and / or femininity’ to undermine them. In addition, computer hard/software frequently comes pre-loaded with male-biased, Western- centric scripts which exacerbates the problem, particularly in circumstances where gender and race intersect (Volman, Van Eck, Heemskerk & Kuiper, 2005; Heemskerk, Brink, Volman & Ten-Dam, 2005).

Some Strategies to Consider

Educational Institutions/Research ActivityResearchers and educators often rely on residential camps/workshops, re-positioning girls and women as technology leaders, computer clubs, and/or exposing girls to positive female role models, either in the classroom or through connections with universities and/or industry. These approaches, whilst entirely valid and commendable, are not without their drawbacks.

Popular in North America, Canada and, to a lesser extent, Australia, residential camps and workshops are capable of bringing together community groups, public institutions and government agencies, both as collaborators and supporters (McCullough, 2002).1 Programs of this type can, McCullough (2002) suggested, connect girls with positive female role models from academia and industry, act as gateways into science and technology careers, and provide teachers with professional development opportunities around gender equity and integration of technology into school curricula. When run on-campus at participating universities, these initiatives have the potential to enhance girls’ interest in technology-related fields, and in some instances, result in participants being the first member of their family to experience and/or aspire to higher level education (McCullough, 2002). Thus, residential camps/workshops can address many of the theoretical perspectives raised in the literature around raising gender awareness, the appropriate age at which intervention should occur, focusing on the person, rather than the technology, and exploding myths, stereotypes and misconceptions associated

1In North America, residential camps aimed at raising female participation in ICT studies are very often funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Gender Equity Program. See Claire McCullough, Attracting under-represented groups to engineering and computer science, in Proceedings of the American Society of Engineering Education Southeastern Section Conference (pp. 1-11), Gainesville, Florida, 2002. Available at http://155.225.14.146/asee-se/proceedings/ASEE2002/P2002046COEETMCC.pdf Retrieved 20 September 2011.

with ICT by exposing girls to inspiring female role models (Falkenberg Lund & Spanner Witzke, 2006).2

Conversely, they are subject to budgetary, staffing, material, and resource constraints, can be problematic in terms of balancing instructional and hands-on activities, and sometimes encounter unforseen challenges associated with housing, transportation, side excursions, counselling and even student medication (Wigal, Alp, McCullough, Smullen & Winters, 2002; Christie & Healy, 2004). Additionally, Christie and Healy (2004) suggested in relation to the Queensland University of Technology initiative, go for IT gURL!, there is the question of timing, particularly where school and host-university semesters collide.

Camp-type programs such as go for IT gURL! rely heavily on the domino, or multiplier effect, whereby those given positive ICT experiences spread the word in their schools and communities. However, as an associate professor in the computer sciences department at the University of Texas observed, whilst programs capable of getting as many as 50 girls at a time – few residential camps/workshops accommodate that many – interested in ICT may be a start, such small-scale interventions are unlikely to change society (Austin American-Statesman, 28 June 2003).

Industry-based GroupsMuch more successful in terms of reach is the Internet-based CC4G (Computer Clubs for Girls), coordinated by the not-for-profit, employer-led organisation, e-skills UK. Launched in 2005, CC4G now reaches more than 3,800 schools and 135,000 girls across England (http://www.cc4g.net/about-cc4g/). CC4G’s objectives are simple: ‘to change the perception… of IT as a career for women by offering inspiring and compelling activities which appeal to girls in a voluntary computer club environment, and to counter the perception, within the target group [girls aged 10-13], that IT is a male profession’ (Fuller, Connor, Johnston & Turbin, 2009, p. 72).

CC4G surmounts a fundamental problem associated with computer clubs. Girl only membership negates the ‘bright white boys’ syndrome illuminated by Bennett, Hsi, Lake and Moore (2000), in which clubs become venues for the extension and exaggeration of gender and racial differences apparent in classrooms. Whilst the CC4G website (http://www.cc4g.net/about-cc4g/) claims ‘84% of girls involved’ in the clubs ‘state they are more likely to consider further education or a career in technology as a result’, a longitudinal evaluation conducted by Fuller et al. (2009) gives less cause for optimism. The strategy is hampered, they suggest, by its voluntary and individual nature, by variations in school and participant experiences, by the propensity of participating schools to ‘churn’ in and out of the program (of schools participating in 2008, just 25% had been involved since 2002), by the secondary status accorded ICT studies in many schools, and by the complexity of factors that in any case influence female attitudes towards ICT studies and careers (Fuller et al., 2009).

With educational, social, financial, emotional and cultural factors impacting girls’ career choices, separating out the long-term effect of initiatives such as CC4G can be problematic and Fuller et al. (2009, p. 75) suggest, that ‘despite the positive immediate impact on girls’ views about ICT…

2 There is some disagreement in the literature concerning when it is not only appropriate, but crucial, to intervene in order to win girls over to ICT. Frank Lanzer, a former public high school teacher, and later Associate Professor and Chair of Engineering and Technology at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland, USA, argues, for example, the need to reach ‘girls and minority students before they reach a critical time of their lives, when peer pressure drives so many to lose self-confidence and “swallow their voices.” Frank Lanzer (2009), Attracting girls to engineering & technology: Reach them before they’re turned off, paper presented to 2009 Mid-Atlantic Section Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education, Baltimore, MD. Available at http://ola3.aacc.edu/fplanzer/documents/Attracting%20Girls%20to%20Technology%20Reach%20Them%20Before%20Turnoff.doc Retrieved 20 September 2011. Generally, however, the consensus appears to be that High School years present the best opportunity to address the “problem” of girls and ICT. This, of course, is consistent with the Rudd Government’s Digital Education Revolution aimed at Australian high school students in Years nine to 12.

participation in the club has had little lasting or substantive impact on their likelihood of pursuing ICT courses or career aspirations.’

If Lang, Fisher and Craig’s (2007) attempt to transfer the CC4G concept to the Australian context is any indicator, it would seem that without serious modification, such as making them elective subjects, the prospects for running successful extra-curricular computer clubs in Australia are quite slim. In a country with little tradition of lunch-time clubs, Lang et al. (2007) found that their initial enrolment of 27 participants at Brentwood Secondary College in Melbourne quickly shrank to just five members. With most participants originating from the same home room, there was a strong suspicion that, despite the enthusiasm of the principal, the IT manager and the IT teacher, the club was not accepted ‘by other form groups and year levels’ (Lang et al., 2007, p. 11).

The Brentwood experience notwithstanding, research undertaken by Fisher et al. (2007) revealed that whilst just 12 out of 280 schools surveyed Australia-wide had implemented any kind of intervention strategy to address gender imbalances in ICT classrooms, most had opted for computer clubs. Foreshadowing Fuller et al.’s (2009) finding that the success of computer clubs too often relies on too few people, Fisher et al. (2007) discovered that in one Australian school with 1,300 students and 90 staff, it had fallen to a single teacher to assume responsibility for organising, running and personally funding the computer club.

ITBeat, a British initiative aimed at stimulating girls’ interest in ICT by appealing to their predilection for glamour, celebrity and pop culture appears eminently transferrable to the Australian sphere. Centred around a competition in which girls get the opportunity to meet ‘pop idols’, ITBeat incorporated ‘a very strong gendering process, whereby the awareness of being a girl’ became ‘a tool of empowerment’ (Pitt, 2003, p. 9). Whilst meeting a favourite celebrity was the ultimate goal, the journey provided invaluable opportunities for girls to be ‘exposed to female role models’ working ‘in some of the most glamorous and exciting areas of IT’ (Pitt, 2003, p. 10). In this way, girls came to see how skills they already ‘possess[ed] could give them access to exciting, well-paid careers in IT’ (Pitt, 2003, p. 10).

Measuring the likelihood for success of initiatives such as ITBeat in absolute terms might be difficult, but its potential to capture young girls’ interest should not be underestimated (Pitt, 2003). An internet search regrettably failed to confirm that ITBeat still exists, but as Pitt (2003) argued, the program’s strength lay in its ability to conceptualise the user at the centre of the intervention – something policy makers too frequently fail to do.

Success can sometimes bloom naturally or in de-facto ways, as Jøsok Gansmo (2003) illuminated in her analysis of programs run at two rural Norwegian schools. At Innøy,3 incorporating ICT into the general curriculum and employing web-based, interactive textbooks cut teaching and learning costs and provided for greater inclusivity of different religious, cultural and other learning needs (Jøsok Gansmo, 2003). At Innøy and Innerland, another pseudonymously named Norwegian school at which female-specific intervention strategies were eschewed, the practice of ‘learning through technology, rather than teaching the technology itself’ proved invaluable in boosting core school values such as building positive identities and strengthening student connections with their communities (Jøsok Gansmo, 2003, p. 16). At Innøy, ‘computing [was viewed] as a panacea for all problems – like heterogeneous groups of pupils, troublemakers, lack of funding and lack of good teachers’, whilst at Innerland, the production of an electronic newspaper in English and French for students in Italy and France worked not only to include girls, but also to inspire some students, including girls, to return their focus to school (Jøsok Gansmo, 2003, p. 19).

DiscussionThe “problem” of girls and ICT is perceived in different ways. For some, image is the key, with breaking down myths and stereotypes viewed as all important. Others see the “problem” as being

3 The anonymity of schools, communities and students analysed in connected with Jøsok Gansmo’s research was maintained by pseudonymously naming the schools Innøy and Innerland.

institutionally based, with schools and teachers misinterpreting male and female capabilities, transmitting negative messages about gender and technology, demonstrating a lack of interest in ICT or, in the affluence / poverty dichotomy, promoting one type of computer learning and practice over all others. Yet again, it can be gender scripts built into computer hard/software that are to blame.

Too often, the way in which the problem is perceived determines the responses that will be made. Policy-driven initiatives are vulnerable to change when governments change. They can also encounter resistance and leave gaps which must somehow be filled. Initiatives aimed at filling such voids – camps, workshops, computer clubs, for example – are constrained by resources, financial and otherwise; are usually small-scale; rely heavily on goodwill, individual effort and multiplier effects; and, if not managed correctly, can be both divisive and unsustainable beyond the life of the research project from which they sprang.

Industry-led initiatives such as CC4G and ITBeat demonstrate an ability to penetrate widely, if not deeply; address concerns in the literature around making ICT audience-relevant and person rather than technology- centred; and are, it seems, flexible enough to allow transferability and modification.

Small-scale, bottom-up initiatives can be tailored to meet local conditions and classroom diversity; connect students more deeply with their communities; make technology real-world relevant; and, while on occasion “innovative but disobedient”, they can use top-down initiatives to boost their technological resources and de-facto augment their reach to all students, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or physical/mental ability.

ConclusionsThis snapshot of strategies to improve female participation in ICT studies and careers suggests a need for approaches which are both impactful and sustainable. It highlighting both the potential and the drawbacks of various measures, this review also suggests the valuable lessons that may be drawn from both sides of that equation. In designing successful intervention strategies, it is crucial to be aware of issues such as in-built gender scripts in computer hard/software; the kind of messages being transmitted in heterogeneous classrooms; the need for teacher education in gender and diversity issues; the ways in which ICT infrastructure is being employed and the learning / skills development that produces; the desirability of spreading the load where staffing is concerned; the need to make ICT studies real-world relevant; and the requirement for ICT studies to be person rather than technology centred. This review has shown that schools and their teachers may take advantage of infrastructure provided from above to develop programs capable of penetrating both widely and deeply. Whilst it is acknowledged that the Australian Government’s Digital Education Revolution (DER) has not been without its problems, it is worth reiterating Volman, Van Eck, Heemskerk & Kuiper’s (2005) warning about the dangers of becoming fixated on how much infrastructure is available and whether it is up-to-date. Following Fuller et al., this review reminds educators and others concerned with the “problem” of girls and ICT, that regardless of how successful or otherwise our intervention strategies may be, they will only ever be but one of many factors ultimately influencing the decisions that girls will make with regard to pursuing either higher-level ICT studies, or ICT careers.4 But they are nonetheless worthwhile pursuing.

4 Appendix A, reproduced from Fuller et al (2009, p.76) provides an excellent visual overview of the complex range of factors influencing girls’ decision-making where studies and careers are concerned.

Appendix A

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