undergraduate students' gender differences in it skills and attitudes

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (2003) 19, 488-500

488 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Undergraduate students’ gender differences in IT skills and attitudes A. C.K. Lee Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching (CAUT), The University of Hong Kong,

Abstract The worldwide concern about the gender gap in information technology and the lack of woman participation in computer science has been attributed to the different cultural influences to which boys and girls are subject. In The University of Hong Kong, girls achieved greater improvements in their computer skills than their male counterparts after completing one year of studies. Recognising their own progress has, in turn, boosted their confidence in using IT. The young women’s estimates of their skill levels have doubled over the years from 1998 to 2000. Despite this recorded acceleration at the end of the academic years, girls were less confident of their abilities and possessed lower IT skill levels than boys before starting their university education, as found in surveys of freshmen’s computer skills. This study compares the responses of student participants of the HKU/IBM Notebook Computer Programme, which started in 1998, in the self-reported IT skills and attitudes of male and female students, in surveys conducted both at the beginning and again at the end of the freshman year. It also examines the achievement scores of the IT Proficiency Tests and the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ courses administered for the student IT requirement for graduation.

Keywords: Attitudes; Computer; Gender; IT-use; Quantitative; Survey; Undergraduate

Introduction

While the use of computers and information technology (IT) is becoming ubiquitous in everyday life, IT is also transforming educational settings. Following the widespread influence of IT inevitably came the issue of gender differences in access and use. The American Association of University Women Educational Foundation (AAUW, 1994) reported gender differences in the use of IT from synthesised results of over 1000 studies, labelling technology as the ‘new boys’ club’, as boys use computers to program and solve problems while girls use IT for word processing.

Worldwide concern for gender gap in IT Researchers worldwide share the concern about the gender gap in information technology. In the United States, Margolis et al. (2001) noted young women’s

Accepted 20 December 2002

Correspondence: Anita Chi-kwan Lee, Room 325, Run Run Shaw Building, Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. Email: [email protected]

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2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 19, 488-500

struggle to maintain their own confidence and interest in the male-dominated hacker subculture of the college computing environment, and the erosion of women’s confidence as a result of comparing their attachment to computing to that of their male peers. Huang et al. (1998) explained that the cultural basis for the gender gap is in the deep-rooted and perpetuating male-domination of the computer science field, the impact of which starts to affect children as early as when they first come into contact with software games which have mostly been designed for boys. Meanwhile, Spertus (1991) lamented the lack of woman participation in computer science, both in education and career, attributing the phenomenon to the different cultural influences to which boys and girls are subject.

Such factors include the different ways in which boys and girls are raised, the stereotypes of female engineers, subtle biases that females face, problems resulting from working in predominantly male environments, and sexual biases in language.

Spertus’ concern is echoed in another study by Albright, who also reported decreases in female computer science undergraduates not only in the United States, but also in Britain. Among others, cultural factors contributing to the decreases quoted by Albright (2000) include gender discrimination, the lack of role models, and less experience of girls playing computer games as children. Researchers from the University of Limerick (DGSUL, 1999) in Ireland has also found that the problem of women’s under-representation in computing ‘does not lie in women’s lack of ability or interest, or their false perception of computing, but rather in the academic and cultural environment which is inherently, as well as stereotypically masculine’. In the Nordic countries, Mörtberg (2000) noted the negative impact of the widespread myths of women being afraid of technology, of their disinterest in developing IT skills, and of the hacker image reinforced by the demands of the college computer programmes. Greenhill (1998) from Australia opined that inequality experienced by girls, as regards IT, is a result of the construction of gender, as exemplified in the lack of female role model and parental support, apart from other barriers like scarce resources and insufficient activities carried out with computers in schools.

Gender and IT at The University of Hong Kong From the Hong Kong (1996) Population By-census data, the gender ratio in full-time education in Hong Kong shows a nearly half-half split in numbers (C&SHK, 1997; 64–65), but female students are still a minority in science and technology disciplines. In the 1999 University Grants Committee report on higher education (UGCHK, 1999), there were only 18% female students among all those who were enrolled in computer science and information technology programmes in 1997–98 in all the universities funded by the UGC. While the female to male ratio of new undergraduates in The University of Hong Kong in 2000–2001 was 56 : 44, female first year students enrolled in the computer science and information technology curricula offered, i.e. BEng (CE), BEng (InfoE) and BSc (CSIS), only amounted to 19%, two percentage points lower than the proportion of female first year students in the whole Faculty of Engineering.

Since the recommendations in the Final Report (AGLTHKU, 1997) of the Ad Hoc Group for Learning Technologies in June 1997, a ‘digital culture’ in campus life has emerged in the University, as a result of the integration of IT into teaching, learning and research. A student IT requirement for graduation was introduced in 1998.

It was also in 1998 that the University implemented a campus-wide notebook

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computer programme (NCP) to ensure that each student has 24-hour access to a high quality computer for education and research. Under the programme, all new incoming first year undergraduate students have been offered the opportunity to purchase one of several models of the IBM ThinkPad notebook computer at a discounted rate with a subsidy from the University. The participation rate average 81.7% for the three cohorts of first year students from 1998 to 2000.

Beginning in August 1998, as part of its support for the NCP, the IT & Teaching Group conducted surveys of each incoming class at the beginning and end of the first year at the university. Students were asked to rate their IT skills and respond to a series of statements concerning attitudes towards the use of IT in education.

This paper will analyse the differences in the self-reported IT skills and attitudes of male and female students by comparing the responses of three cohorts of student participants (1998–99, 1999–2000, and 2000–2001) in the NCP. The study also drew on the achievement scores of the IT Proficiency Tests and the grades in the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ (FIT) courses, which were administered for the student IT requirement, achieved by all the first-year students in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 cohorts who took part in either the Test or the FIT courses.

Student surveys

As mentioned earlier, new first year incoming students were surveyed at the beginning of the academic year in the ‘year-start surveys’, and again at the end of their first year at the university in the ‘year-end surveys’. To distinguish the three groups of students, incoming students in 1998 will be referred to as ‘Cohort 1’, 1999 students as ‘Cohort 2’ and the 2000 students as ‘Cohort 3’.

Notes on methodology An overview of the surveys is given in Table 1.

Year-start surveys. It was the intention to use the year-start surveys to collect baseline information before the incoming first year undergraduate students started receiving IT instruction or had any experiences with IT at the University. Students were asked to assess their self-reported level of competency using computers∗, their level of familiarity with specific software packages, and respond to a series of statements concerning attitudes towards the use of computer in education.

While the year-start survey conducted on Cohort 1 (referred to as ‘Survey YS1’) was a census/nonsample survey, the other two were random sample surveys (for Cohort 2 referred to as ‘Survey YS2’, and Cohort 3 referred to as ‘Survey YS3’). In ∗ A rating scale of five levels was used: Expert, Significant Experience, Intermediate Experience, Limited Experience, and Beginner.

Table 1. The surveys conducted

Label no. of respondents response rate

Year start Cohort 1 YS1 828 30.1% Cohort 2 YS2 444 63.4% Cohort 3 YS3 617 50.8% Year end Cohort 1 YE1 354 32.2% Cohort 2 YE2 469 44.7% Cohort 3 YE3 286 40.9%

Details of the surveys are at http://www.hku.hk.caut/Homepage/itt/5_Reports/5_3surveys.htm



the year 2000 start survey, a quota was introduced to the sampling process of both the participants and non-participants of the NCP.

For Survey YS1, a weighting was performed on the findings due to the low response rate (30%). Based on the assumption that faculty affiliation was a factor affecting students’ IT skills, attitudes and beliefs, the survey data obtained from respondents who were NCP participants were adjusted according to the actual faculty distribution of the whole population of first-year participants. A weight factor for individual faculties was calculated by dividing the actual percentage by the survey percentage distribution.

In both the 1999 and 2000 start surveys, there was a difference between the male to female ratio of the actual population of first year students and that of the respondents to the survey∗. Since this difference was bigger than the respective margin of error of the surveys†, the results of the 1999 and 2000 start surveys were weighted according to the actual gender distribution of the respective population of freshmen. For both surveys, a weight factor was calculated for the responses from each of the groups of male and female students by dividing the individual male and female percentages of the actual population by those of the survey sample.

Year-end surveys. To evaluate the progress of and changes in the new undergraduate students after one year of university learning, year-end surveys were conducted at the end of the respective academic years, in June 1999 and 2000, and May 2001 (‘IT Skills and Attitudes Survey of First Year Students’ in 1999, hereafter referred to as ‘Survey YE1’, ‘Year-End IT Survey of First Year Students, 1999–2000’, hereafter referred to as ‘Survey YE2’, and ‘Year-End IT Survey of First Year Students 2000–2001’, hereafter referred to as ‘Survey YE3’). The objectives of these surveys were to gauge the changes in the self-reported IT skills of the students and their attitudes about computer use in education after one year of study at the university. They also aimed to evaluate student usage of the notebook computers purchased through the notebook computer programme, and their level of satisfaction with this programme and other supporting services.

For the year 2000 end survey, the difference between the male to female ratio of the actual population of first year students and that of the respondents to the survey¥ was bigger than the margin of error of the survey#. The results of this survey were weighted according to the actual gender distribution of the population of freshmen.

Student self-reported IT skills

IT skills at start of year At the beginning of each academic year, the three Cohorts were asked to rate themselves in terms of their ‘current ability to use a computer’ on the five-point scale mentioned earlier. A brief description was offered of the types of skills included in each choice. ∗ For 1999, the male to female ratio of the first year population was 43.2 : 56.8, while that of the respondents to the year-start survey was 36.4 : 63.6. For 2000, the male to female ratio of the first year population was 44.0 : 56.0, while that of the respondents to the year-start survey was 35.6 : 64.4. † At 95% confidence level, the margin of error for the 1999 year-start survey was less than ± 4.3%, while that for the 2000 year-start survey was less than ± 3.5%. ¥ For the 2000 Cohort, the male to female ratio of the first year population at the end of the academic year was 44.1 : 55.9, while that of the respondents to the year-end survey was 35.2 : 64.8. # At 95% confidence level, the margin of error for the 2000 year-end survey was within ± 5.5%.

492 A.C.K. Lee


While Cohort 3 students began the year with more developed computer skills than did Cohort 2 and even more than Cohort 1, it is noteworthy that male respondents had the tendency to rate themselves higher than female respondents. The results of Surveys YS2 and YS3 were tested to be statistically significant at the 0.01 level or smaller (Survey YS2: χ2 = 32.375, p = 0.000; Survey YS3: χ2 = 64.467, p = 0.000).

Nearly half (48%) of the female respondents of Cohort 1 but only slightly more than one-third (36%) of the male respondents rated themselves as someone with ‘limited experience.’ In Survey YS2, 40% of the female respondents from Cohort 2 and only one-quarter (25%) of the male respondents rated themselves as such. This discrepancy continued into the third year when only 16% of the male respondents and nearly two times (30%) as much of the female respondents gave themselves such a rating. Similarly, while over one-fifth (23%) of the male respondents of Cohort 1 rated themselves as a person with ‘significance experience’, only about 10 percent of the female respondents rated themselves at this level. For Cohort 2, one-quarter of the male respondents and 18% of the female respondents labelled themselves likewise, whereas one-third of the male respondents from Cohort 3 chose the label as against less than a quarter of female respondents (23%) (see Table 2).

And yet, the biggest gap has been developed over the three years in the category of experts: the male to female gender ratios are 3.7 : 0.6 in 1998–99, 10.1 : 0.7 in 1999–2000, and 13.8 : 0.8 in 2000–2001. While the proportion of male respondents who rated themselves as experts has grown considerably by nearly threefold, that of female respondents has seen a very small increase. It must be pointed out, however, that there may be the tendency that the male students have over-estimated their knowledge, while their female counterparts underestimated theirs, and that gender differences in the number of students who labelled themselves ‘Experts’ is not a measure of gender differences in actual expertise terms.

OSA reports of student profile

Notwithstanding, the gender gap in the results above were further confirmed by the data in the reports of ‘A Profile of New Full-time Undergraduate Students’ conducted by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) in the three successive years of 1998, 1999, and 2000. When asked to assess their own computer skills on a five-point scale, the female respondents of all three cohorts gave themselves lower ratings than their male counterparts. The mean rating of the male respondents of Cohort 3 was 3.11, as against a mean of 2.66 for the female respondents (OSAHKU, 2000; 18). For Cohort 2, the means for male and female respondents were 3.07 and

Table 2 Student self-reported IT skills (%) at start of year

Year Gender N Expert Significant Intermediate Limited Beginner experience experience experience

1998–1999 Male 353 3.7 22.7 31.2 36.3 6.2 Female 467 0.6 9.9 30.8 48.4 10.3 1999–2000 Male 158 10.1 25.3 38.0 24.7 1.9 Female 278 0.7 17.6 38.1 39.6 4.0 2000–2001 Male 218 13.8 33.9 33.0 16.1 3.2 Female 393 0.8 23.2 43.5 29.8 2.8

Notes: Since Survey YS1 (Year-Start, 1998–99) was a census survey, no statistical test was required for the differences. They are actual differences observed.



2.55, respectively (OSAHKU, 1999; 21), whereas those for Cohort 1 male and female respondents were 2.94 and 2.48 (OSAHKU, 1998; 23) (see Table 3).

Starting in 1999, a new item was added to the survey instrument gauging students’ adaptation to university life. Female respondents expected more difficulty than their male counterparts in their use of IT for studies and learning (OSAHKU, 1999; 45 and OSAHKU, 2000; 41) (see Table 3).

IT skills at End of Year For their self reported skills at the end of the year, 26% of the male respondents in Cohort 3 labelled themselves as ‘experts’, as against only five percent of the female respondents who regarded themselves as such. Nine percent of the male respondents and 12% of the female respondents of Cohort 2 rated themselves as having ‘limited experience’, while more than one-quarter (29%) of the male respondents but only five percent of the female respondents rated themselves as an ‘expert.’ As regards Cohort 1, eight percent of the male and 18% of the female respondents rated themselves as someone with ‘limited experience.’ Meanwhile, 18% but only three percent, respectively, of the male and female respondents regarded themselves an ‘expert’ (see Table 4). These results were also tested to be statistically significant at the 0.01 level or smaller (Survey YE1: χ2 = 43.005, p = 0.000; Survey YE2: χ2 = 69.657, p = 0.000; Survey YE3: χ2 = 30.529, p = 0.000).

Number of software packages known For the number of software packages known by respondents, a similar phenomenon was observed. The results were tested to be statistically significant (Survey YS2: t = 6.155, p = 0.00; Survey YS3: t = 8.006, p = 0.00). Even though the mean numbers of software packages known for the male and female students are both in a

Table 3 OSA reports of student profile

Year Gender N* Self-rated Using IT for computer skills# studies and learning**

1998–1999 Male 900 2.94 – Female 1381 2.48 – 1999–2000 Male 927 3.07 1.54 Female 1279 2.55 1.75 2000–2001 Male 807 3.11 1.58 Female 1117 2.66 1.80

* Total number of respondents for the whole survey, not for individual questions. # Rating: 1 = very weak, 2 = weak, 3 = average, 4 = strong, 5 = very strong. ** Rating: 1 = little or no difficulty, 2 = some difficulty, 3 = great difficulty.

Table 4. Student self-reported IT skills (%) at end of year

Year Gender N Expert Significant Intermediate Limited Beginner experience experience experience

1998–1999 Male 90 17.8 44.4 30.0 7.8 0.0 Female 163 2.5 20.9 56.4 18.4 1.8 1999–2000 Male 174 29.3 42.0 20.1 8.6 0.0 Female 290 5.2 34.8 47.9 12.1 0.0 2000–2001 Male 100 26.0 42.0 25.0 7.0 0.0 Female 184 4.9 41.3 43.5 9.8 0.5

Notes: In this and other tables, since Survey YS1 (Year-Start, 1998–99) was a census survey, no statistical test was required for the differences. The figures are actual differences observed.

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trend of considerable increase through the years, male students continued to report knowing more number of software packages than female students in all the three cohorts (see Table 5). Again, it must also be pointed out here that self-reported knowledge of a software package is not a measure of actual ability.

Confidence level in using computers There were two statements concerning IT attitudes that refer to students’ confidence levels in using computers. These two statements were ‘I feel comfortable using computers’, and ‘I am fearful about computer use.’ Several observations could be highlighted in regard to gender differences.

Cohort 1. For Cohort 1, gender differences were observed in the Year-Start and Year-End survey results for both statements. Male respondents were significantly more confident in using computers than their female counterparts (Survey YE1: χ2 = 9.548, p = 0.008) (see Table 6).

As regards the statement ‘I am fearful about computer use’, the results were also statistically significant beyond the 0.005 level (Survey YE1: χ2 = 11.502, p = 0.003) (see Table 7)

Cohort 2. For Cohort 2, significant gender differences were observed for both the Year-Start and Year-End survey results for the statement ‘I am fearful about computer use.’ (Survey YS2: χ2 = 9.709, p = 0.008; Survey YE2: χ2 = 7.121, p = 0.028.) (see Table 8).

Cohort 3. Significant gender differences were also observed in Cohort 3 respondents for both the Year-Start and Year-End results for the statement ‘I am fearful about computer use.’ (Survey YS3: χ2 = 15.340, p = 0.000; Survey YE3: χ2 = 7.818, p = 0.020.) (see Table 9).

Table 5. Number of software packages known by students

Year Gender N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

1998–1999 Male 353 0 20 8.39 4.94 Female 474 0 21 6.32 3.60 1999–2000 Male 159 1 24 10.89 5.26 Female 278 0 23 8.23 3.73 2000–2001 Male 218 1 26 13.56 5.87 Female 394 0 23 10.23 4.34

Table 6 Cohort 1 – ‘I feel comfortable using computers.’

Cohort 1 Gender N Agree (%) Disagree (%) Undecided (%)

Year-Start Male 353 72.5 8.8 18.7 Female 469 56.3 21.1 22.6 Year-End Male 94 92.6 2.1 5.3 Female 180 77.8 7.8 14.4

Table 7 Cohort 1 – ‘I am fearful about computer use.’





Experience teaching others to use computers Students’ confidence in using computers is manifested not only in their perceived level of comfort working with computers, but also in their experience in teaching others to use computers. When asked whether they have ever taught anyone else to use a computer, significantly larger proportions of male respondents than female respondents from all the three cohorts replied to the positive (Survey YS2: χ2 = 11.513, p = 0.001; Survey YS3: χ2 = 7.010, p = 0.008). The biggest difference

in percentages (17 percentage points) is recorded in the Cohort 2 respondents. In Cohort 1, half of the male and slightly more than one-third of the female respondents have taught someone to use a computer. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of the male and only

slightly more than half of the female respondents of Cohort 3 had such an experience, recording a difference of 11 percentage points (see Table 10).

IT proficiency test

The IT Proficiency Test has been administered as an option for the student IT requirement for graduation introduced since 1998. In fact, students may opt for passing the IT course in six modules and also get three credits, or passing one IT Proficiency Test to meet the requirement without any credit. Individual departments also prescribe courses within the departments as meeting the IT requirement. The 2 hour-long IT Proficiency Test is jointly offered by the Department of Computer Science & Information Systems, Computer Centre and University Libraries. Data reported in this section are drawn from the achievement scores in the IT Proficiency Tests and the grades in the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ courses of all the two cohorts of first-year students in 1998–99 and 1999–2000. Since there was no sampling involved, no statistical tests were applied to the data compared and the differences reported are actual differences observed.







Table 10. Experience teaching others to use computers

Year Gender N Yes (%) No (%)

1998–99 Male 351 49.6 50.4 Female 471 36.1 63.9 1999–2000 Male 157 65.6 34.4 Female 277 48.7 51.3 2000–2001 Male 211 63.0 37.0 Female 390 51.8 48.2

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Confidence in taking the IT proficiency test Examining the data of the IT Proficiency Test gives some further support to the gender differences in students’ confidence in their IT skills. In both cohorts, smaller proportions of female students took the test than male students, even though the gender ratios of the total population of first year undergraduate students were in a reversed order.

Cohort 1. For the total population of Cohort 1, there were 43% male and 57% female students. But among all the 405 students who chose to take the IT Proficiency Test in 1998–99, nearly three-quarters (72%) were male students (see Fig. 1).

Cohort 2. More students from Cohort 2 took the IT Proficiency Test in 1999–2000. But the proportion of male students who chose the test as the IT requirement for graduation was more than half (55%), as compared to the proportion of 43% of male students in the total population of Cohort 2 (see Fig. 2).

The fact that a larger proportion of female students than male students in both Cohort 1 and Two were eligible to take the IT Proficiency Test, but that actually smaller proportions of female students did choose this option, further suggests that the confidence of the male students in their self-perceived IT competency might be a significant factor for their choice. However, there might be other academic requirements that have influenced students’ decision whether to take the test.

Scores achieved and attempts made Further examination of the scores achieved by the students taking the test over the two years adds weight to the argument that there were gender differences in IT competency. The means for male students of both Cohort 1 and Two were higher than those for female students of both cohorts were. Cohort 2 male students who took the IT Proficiency Test obtained a mean score of 66.12, while female students achieved a mean score of 64.20, resulting in a difference of 1.92 marks. Meanwhile, the mean score for Cohort 1 male students was 58.66, and that for female students 57.30, a difference of 1.36 marks. In addition, female students needed more attempts to get a passing score than their male counterparts did, and one-third more failed all attempts in 1999–2000 (see Table 11).

72.1

43.4

27.9

56.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Students taking IT Proficiency Test

MaleFemale

Population of Year 1 Students Fig. 1 Gender distribution of students

(1998-99)

55.3

43.344.7

56.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Students taking IT Proficiency Test

MaleFemale

Population of Year 1 Students

Fig. 2 Gender distribution of students

Table 11. IT Proficiency Test

Year Gender Ν Mean no. Failed Ν Mean Score** of attempts all attempts

1998–1999 Male 292 1.01 0 292 58.66 Female 113 1.04 0 113 57.30 1999–2000 Male 541 1.09 14 526 66.12 Female 438 1.14 21 411 64.20

* 1998–99: Full Mark = 75, Passing Rate = 40%. 1999–2000: Full Mark = 86, Passing Rate = 50%. ** Since those who failed an attempt did not receive any score, mean scores were only calculated from the scores that were considered a pass.



IT course

Taking the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ (FIT) course offered by the Department of Computer Science & Information Systems, Computer Centre and University Libraries is the most common way that students at HKU meet their IT graduation requirement. For those who take the IT course, they have to pass 6 modules, but they are free to choose the order of the different modules to suit their needs. There is a test for each module, which lasts for one hour. Students need to pass all six tests to meet their graduation requirement. In this section, the test grades in the FIT courses of all the first-year students of the two cohorts in 1998–99 and 1999–2000 are analysed. As no sampling was involved, there was no need to apply statistical tests on the data. The differences reported, whether in means or percentages, are actual differences observed.

Cohort 2 male students who took the IT course in 1999–2000 out-performed the female students by 1.66 marks (mean scores for male and female students were, respectively, 37.47 and 35.81), while in 1998–99 by only 0.92 mark (mean scores for male and female students were, respectively, 30.53 and 29.61) (see Table 12). Female students also had to make more attempts than male students did to obtain a pass for all the modules of the course.

Discussion

Gender differences in IT skills are not only experienced in this university. Such differences are also evident in American universities. Discovering a phenomenon similar to that in this university, the fall 2000 survey of UCLA unfolded a gap among the current freshmen as the largest in the 35 years of history of the survey in their self-rated computer skills (Sax et al., 2000). Nevertheless, further investigation into the data from this university has yielded another picture that also merits attention. Despite the lower ratings that female students gave themselves in their computer skills, their lower level of comfort working with computers, and the smaller proportions of female students who took the IT Proficiency Test, there are indications that they have been quick in catching up.

Over the three years, the proportion of male respondents who rated themselves as being experts or having significant experience at the start of the year increased by 80%, whereas that of the female respondents by 129% (see Table 13).

Similarly, the proportion of male respondents who gave themselves the same ratings at the end of the year experienced an increase of 10% over the two years vs. 97% of the female respondents (see Table 13).

Table 12. IT Course

Year Gender Ν Mean no. Failed Ν Mean Score** of attempts all attempts

1998–1999 Male 247 1.02 0 247 30.53 Female 794 1.04 0 794 29.61 1999–2000 Male 330 1.07 0 329 37.47 Female 735 1.14 0 731 35.81

*1998–99: Full Marks for all 6 modules = 40, Passing Rate = 40%; 1999–2000: Full Marks for Modules 1 & 2 = 46, Modules 3 & 4 = 40, Module 5 = 36, and Module 6 = 30; Passing Rate = 50%. **Since those who failed an attempt did not receive any score, mean scores were only calculated from the scores that were considered a pass.

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Furthermore, the male proportion who has the experience of teaching someone to use a computer increased by 27% over the three years, when the female proportion increased by 44% (see Table 14).

The proportion of first year male undergraduate students who took the IT Proficiency Test increased by 91% between Cohort 1 and Cohort 2, whereas the female proportion changed by 297% (see Table 14).

The change in profile between the male and female students as presented above illustrates acceleration in confidence of female students in IT, amidst the persistent phenomenon of their lower self-ratings and performance in IT skills, as compared to those of the male students. It is important to note here that female students have more possibility for change as they have started out from a lower level.

Conclusion

Even though information technology is so influential in our society and computers are so widely used in education, male and female students still tend to perform differently in IT skills. For whatever reasons, the larger proportions of female students who came to study at The University of Hong Kong rated themselves as less competent and less confident in computer use, and knew less software packages, than their male counterparts. Much smaller proportions of female students were confident enough to take the IT Proficiency Test and they scored lower marks than the male students did. Yet, this does not preclude other academic requirements as the factor of having contributed to students’ decision whether to take the test.

Nonetheless, the change in profile between the male and female students over the years not only attests to an expeditious acceleration of female confidence in their own IT skills over the three years in question, but also suggests another angle to examine the issue of gender differences in IT skills and attitudes. That there is larger room for improvement by female students who have started out from a relatively lower point than their male counterparts in the scale of IT skills is not a bone of contention. Meanwhile, there might also be the possibility that the social factor of the gradual overall change in IT attitude in the society of Hong Kong has effected the change in the female students. Will this factor be instrumental to an eventual bridging of the present gap in IT skills among Hong Kong male and female students?

It will also be interesting to investigate what gender perceptions, especially those

Table 13. Students with expert/significant experience

Start of Year End of Year Year % of Male % of Female % of Male % of Female

1998–1999 26.4 10.5 62.2 23.4 1999–2000 35.4 18.3 71.3 40.0 2000–2001 47.7 24.0 68.0 46.2 Change (%) 180.7 228.6 109.7 197.4

Table 14. Comparison of IT skills and experience

Experience of teaching others IT Proficiency Test Year % of Male % of Female % of Male % of Female

1998–1999 49.6 36.1 23.8 7.08 1999–2000 65.6 48.7 45.5 28.1 2000–2001 63.0 51.8 − − Change (%) 127.0 143.5 191.1 396.8



relating to IT, exist in girls of Hong Kong, and what change they experience regarding the level of confidence in their IT skills, if any, as they grow up through the current educational system.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the following: Professor Tim Moore, Director of the Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching (2000-2002), for his invaluable comments on an earlier draft of this paper; Dr Craig Blurton, Head of the IT & Teaching Group, CAUT, for his guidance; Dr Chan Wun-tat and Ken Chan of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, for their help in providing information and data on the IT Proficiency Test and the ‘Foundations to Information Technology’ course; Mrs Shirley Hung, Senior Student Affairs Officer, Office of Student Affairs, for permission to use data in the 1998, 1999, and 2000 reports of ‘A Profile of New Full-time Undergraduate Students’; Dr Kai W. Ng, Head of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, and Dr Philip L.H. Yu, Associate Professor of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, for their advice on statistics.

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500 A.C.K. Lee


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Second IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education (WMTE) March 23-25, 2004 National Central University, JungLi, Taiwan Proceedings to be published by IEEE Computer Society Press. For further details, please check the website: http://lttf.ieee.org/wmte2003/

--------------------------------- IADIS International Conference Web Based Communities 2004 Lisbon, Portugal 25-26 March 2004 http://www.iadis.org/wbc2004/ The mission of this conference is to publish and integrate scientific results and act catalytically to the fast developing culture of web communities. The conference invites original papers, review papers, technical reports and case studies on WWW in particular the emerging role of so-called WWW-based Communities. The proceedings of the conference will be published in the form of a book. The better papers will be candidate for the recently-started International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC); ISSN: 1477 - 8394

undergraduate students' gender differences in it skills and attitudes

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