City Research Online

Abstract

The role of non-formal education in increasing female participation in Computer Science (CS) is a hot topic. Short-term interventions, including programming skill outreach activities, have been reported to increase self-efficacy and willingness to pursue computing careers in young women. We explored the impact of a programming outreach activity on three types of measures for 30 female pupils: computing self-efficacy, social participation, and understanding of basic computing concepts. Preliminary results revealed a significant increase in participants' self-efficacy and sense of belonging in computing after the informal learning activity. Students were more focused on tasks when engaging socially with their peers and teachers. A decrease in misconception was observed in uni-structural knowledge but no significant difference was found in multi-structural computing knowledge acquisition. These data provide a baseline for study of the long term impact of outreach activities.

Publication Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Additional Information:	© The authors | ACM 2023. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in https://doi.org/10.1145/3587103.3594197
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform L Education > LB Theory and practice of education Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Departments:	School of Science & Technology School of Science & Technology > Computer Science
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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