Creating the Conditions to Transform Access and Equity in Computer Science Education

Flapan, J; Hadad, R; Goins, R; Koshy, S; Ryoo, JJ; Nazario, P

Computer Science for California (CSforCA) is a coalition of educators, industry leaders, nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions advocating for high-quality computer science education, with an emphasis on girls, low-income students, and students of color. Seasons of CS is CSforCA’s year-round professional learning experience that aims to provide educators across the state of California access to quality training in computer science (CS) education that is standards aligned and culturally responsive. In order to (1) expand access to high quality computer science education throughout the state and (2) ensure that access is equitable, scalable and sustainable in the long-term, we concentrate on building the capacity of not just classroom teachers, but also school leaders, and counselors. Seasons of CS builds upon existing professional learning models across the country to increase access and broaden participation in computing (Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2022; Karlin et al., 2023; Yadav et al., 2021; Wachen et al., 2021; Goode et al., 2020) The CAPE Framework helps ground Seasons of CS’s comprehensive collective impact approach to systemic change through sharing data-driven practices that address equity-minded practices to broaden participation. For instance, in partnership with the Kapor Center, CSforCA has developed and implemented a data tool to identify and respond to local and statewide equity gaps in access to computer science education. It is through these data-driven practices that we can hold ourselves - and the state- accountable for increasing access to CS. Furthermore, an ongoing examination of local and statewide data helps our stakeholder groups determine whether our strategies are meeting their intended outcomes, instead of continuing, or worse, exacerbating existing inequities. Since increasing access to ongoing professional learning for teachers is a priority tactic to increasing access of CS education for students, we want to better understand the following: Does increased professional learning opportunities for teachers equip them to reduce barriers to increase access and engagement for students? Does increased professional learning opportunities for teachers equip them to reduce barriers to increased access and engagement for students of color in particular? In order to answer these questions, we developed a study that derives data from the CSforCA data tool, as well as interviews from 70 of the 700 participating educators six months after their summer professional learning experience. In these interviews, we asked participants about barriers to implementing the professional learning they participated in. Preliminary data demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the outcomes of this large-scale professional learning program and explores the degree to which professional learning increases access to computer science among Black, Brown, and Indigenous students. In addition, we provide analyses that demonstrate the limitations of data tools, which have grown in popularity, to demonstrate overall access to -and engagement in- CS education, uncovering where and how CS education is prospering.

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