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This Research Full Paper presents a qualitative interview study on the effectiveness of a computing identity development listserv. The demand for diverse computing careers increases, yet African Americans continue to participate and succeed in computing fields proportionately less than their White and Asian counterparts. An individual’s computing identity can influence their performance and willingness to participate. The African American PhDs in Computer Science Listserv is an email listserv created to increase and maintain members’ sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and resilience in computing. Semistructured interviews of graduate student, faculty, and industry professional members were conducted to investigate how effective the listserv was at increasing and maintaining computing identity. Findings include decision making processes for joining, duration and dosage of interaction members partake, maintenance of computing resilience, members’ self-reflection, willingness to seek help, and attitudes towards computing. Recommendations were made about the listserv and if other African Americans in computing should join. Findings can be used to develop new approaches to supporting the computing identities of underrepresented groups. This paper is in conjunction with other papers in an extended case study on resilient identity development in African American computer scientists.
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Computing Resilient Identity Development and Maintenance of Black Americans who Earned a Ph.D. in Computing
This Research Full Paper presents a qualitative interview and descriptive study on computing resilient identity development of African Americans who have earned a Ph.D. in a computing field. Low sense of belonging and self-efficacy contributes to low participation and performance of African Americans have lower participation and performance in computing as compared to their White and Asian counterparts. Computing identity including sense of belonging and self-efficacy contributes to this deficit. To increase African American successful representation in computing, resilience is explored to identify the support systems, challenges, and coping processes of African Americans who have earned a Ph.D. in computing. Indepth, semi-structured interviews of African American post-docs, faculty, and industry researchers in computing fields were implemented. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were analyzed with a hybrid inductive-deductive qualitative content analysis. Surveys were employed to document participants’ work resilience and personality to supplement the qualitative data. Results include the resilient identity development of participants by reciting background information, challenges and support systems in their respective employment, and how they react to such stressors and supports, and the productive they are while persevering. Findings from this work can be used to improve academia and industry conditions for African American professionals and to identify resources that were suggested to be pivotal in participants’ resilient identity development within the computing field. This paper is in conjunction with other papers in an extended case study on resilient identity development in African American computer scientists.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1818458
- PAR ID:
- 10177886
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 2019 Frontiers in Education Conference
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Despite increasing demands for skilled workers within the technological domain, there is still a deficit in the number of graduates in computing fields (computer science, information technology, and computer engineering). Understanding the factors that contribute to students’ motivation and persistence is critical to helping educators, administrators, and industry professionals better focus efforts to improve academic outcomes and job placement. This article examines how experiences contribute to a student’s computing identity, which we define by their interest, recognition, sense of belonging, and competence/performance beliefs. In particular, we consider groups underrepresented in these disciplines, women and minoritized racial/ethnic groups (Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx). To delve into these relationships, a survey of more than 1,600 students in computing fields was conducted at three metropolitan public universities in Florida. Regression was used to elucidate which experiences predict computing identity and how social identification (i.e., as female, Black/African American, and/or Hispanic/Latinx) may interact with these experiences. Our results suggest that several types of experiences positively predict a student’s computing identity, such as mentoring others, having a job, or having friends in computing. Moreover, certain experiences have a different effect on computing identity for female and Hispanic/Latinx students. More specifically, receiving academic advice from teaching assistants was more positive for female students, receiving advice from industry professionals was more negative for Hispanic/Latinx students, and receiving help on classwork from students in their class was more positive for Hispanic/Latinx students. Other experiences, while having the same effect on computing identity across students, were experienced at significantly different rates by females, Black/African American students, and Hispanic/Latinx students. The findings highlight experiential ways in which computing programs can foster computing identity development, particularly for underrepresented and marginalized groups in computing.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028648
