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Students in geographically rural areas of the United States have less access to computer science education and are underrepresented in computer science majors and careers. At the same time, many rural occupations such as agriculture are becoming reliant on technology, and there is a need for skilled computer scientists with a rural background and skillset to develop effective tools and software that can be used in those occupations. In addition, the values of grit, determination, self-sufficiency, and perseverance often studied in rural populations are also attributed to successful computer scientists. Given the need for rural students to participate in computer science careers, and the overlap in rural values and the qualities of good computer scientists, why do rural students not see themselves as future computer scientists, and why are they not interested in computer science majors and careers? In this paper, we examine the geographical definition of "rural" as used by many researchers (based on the definition from the National Center for Education Statistics NCES) that is often applied homogenously across a school district or even entire county. We explore and validate a survey instrument used to measure "rural identity" of students at the individual level. In doing so, we discover a more broad and nuanced definition of "rural" that varies widely within individual schools. By analyzing this rich dataset, we build the case that defining individual students as "rural" based on geographical location is insufficient to account for variances in their interest in computer science careers and their own self-identity as someone who could be a computer scientist. We use this information to inform future research and propose new avenues for engaging "rural" students in computer science.
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This content will become publicly available on February 12, 2026
Building the Cyber Pipeline: Providing CS Education For Rural K-12 Schools
In the push to broaden participation in computer science (CS) within the United States, there have been a number of highly successful efforts to engage urban high schools and communities. As urban areas often have high concentrations of poverty and underrepresented populations, these efforts meet a well-known need, and have a strong potential impact. However, urban audiences are not the only ones to lack adequate computer science education opportunities. In the United States, 1 in 5 people live in a rural area [19], and studies consistently show that rural areas offer fewer opportunities for students to engage with computer science than their urban and suburban peers. While some of the challenges rural schools face are shared by urban schools, the rural schools also have unique challenges that must be understood before engaging in successful intervention efforts. This paper describes one effort to support rural schools, their teachers, and their students. We seek to share the lessons we have learned in the hope that other programs may benefit.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2216625
- PAR ID:
- 10652149
- Publisher / Repository:
- ACM
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 102 to 108
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- rural students computer science education K-12 K-12 teachers
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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