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Taking a justice-oriented approach to equity in Computer Science (CS) education, this paper questions the dominant discourse in CS education and asks what truly makes CS learning consequential from the perspective of youth. We define CS learning as consequential by focusing on its transformative impact on youth identity, agency, and perceptions of the world within and beyond CS classrooms, regardless of whether or not they pursue CS in the future. Our research-practice partnership used qualitative data, specifically longitudinal interview data with 30 students up to three years after they first experienced a high school CS class in a large public school district on the west coast serving majority Latinx, urban, low-income students. Our findings suggest that in order for CS learning to be meaningful and consequential for youth, learning must involve: 1) freedom for youth to express their interests, passions, and concerns; 2) opportunities for youth to expand their views of CS and self; and 3) teacher care for students, learning community, and subject matter. The findings have significant implications for the broader “CS for All” movement and future efforts to reform policy agendas aiming for a more justice-centered CS education.
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“Show Them the Playbook That These Companies Are Using”: Youth Voices about Why Computer Science Education Must Center Discussions of Power, Ethics, and Culturally Responsive Computing
Culturally responsive computing (CRC), that centers sociopolitical issues and transformational uses of technology, has been described as valuable for increasing engagement with computing, especially for historically underrepresented minoritized students. But what do high school students think? Through a sociocultural lens prioritizing student voices recorded in 56 interviews over a period of 2 years (1–3 years after students’ first experience with computer science (CS) education through Exploring Computer Science or Advanced Placement CS Principles in high school), this study centers the perspectives of 39 primarily low-income, Latine and Black youth from urban California and rural Mississippi public schools to understand what they perceive as the role of technology in our world and what they subsequently desire of their computing education. While none have studied CRC before, the majority responded with CRC ideas about the kind of pedagogy they believe would make for a more meaningful computing learning experience: They see computing as a form of power that impacts both good and bad in the world and want computing educators to prepare them to take on these issues of equity, ethics, social responsibility, and underrepresentation in the field. The students’ perspectives offer important pedagogical insight into how to support deeper engagement with computing in current CS for All initiatives, while also preparing youth for the rapidly evolving and increasingly complex computing landscape that impacts all of our lives.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2030935
- PAR ID:
- 10548586
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACM Transactions on Computing Education
- Volume:
- 24
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 1946-6226
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 21
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3660645
