Search for: All records

Pathways to the professoriate for women in computer science are narrow and fraught with barriers. These obstacles are further exacerbated at the intersections of race and gender. Black women (who make up 6.4% of the U.S. population) comprise only 1.1% of computer science undergraduate degrees and < 1% of computer science PhDs. Despite these paltry numbers, one computer science PhD program may have found the combination of factors necessary to widen the pathway by engaging in strategic recruitment, developing communities of practice, and providing strong mentorship for women of color in computer science. Guided primarily by intersectionality theory, social identity theory, and landscapes of practice, this single case study explored the experiences of Black women in pursuit of their doctorate in computer science at a predominantly white institution to answer the research questions: (1) How do Black women graduate students in computer science describe their computer science identity? (2) How do landscapes of practice influence computer science identity formation or salience of Black women in a computer science graduate program? Thematic analysis of this case revealed three common themes within their experiences: moments of impact, boundary spanning, and community residence. These themes, all of which revolve around ideas of community and support, are critical to understanding a key discovery of this study: why a sense of belonging, rather than identity salience (as much research suggests), was the best indicator of the women’s persistence. 

Underrepresentation of Black and Hispanic women in computer science is a long-standing problem that looks bleak at every level - undergraduate and graduate. This is prompting scholars to explore reasons for these low participation rates. One framework used to understand participation and persistence in STEM fields is identity. Prior work in computer science education suggest that identity is a strong indicator of persistence in these fields. However, it is hard to understand students’ perception of identity without also under- standing ontological beliefs with regards to a computer scientist. In this study, we explore the nature of a computer scientist. Guided by social identity theory, we designed a study that asked students to describe their definition or ontological belief of what constitutes a computer scientist in contrast to their ability to ascribe a com- puter science identity to self. Leveraging qualitative methods, we interviewed n= 24 women in computer science (Black and Hispanic, undergraduate and graduate students), in order to explore the role their ontological beliefs had on their computer science identity salience. The research questions guiding this work are: (1) How do Black and Hispanic women describe or define computer scientists? (2) What impact does this definition have on Black and Hispanic women’s ability to claim a computing identity? Results suggest that the wide variation in definitions has a negative impact on computer science identity salience. The findings from this work suggest that computing should consider the impacts of the current messaging of what constitutes a computer scientist. 

This Research Full Paper presents the effects of computing identity sub-constructs on the persistence of computer science students. Computer science (CS) is one of the fastest growing disciplines in the world and an emerging critical field for all students to obtain vital skills to be successful in the 21st century. Despite the growing importance of computer science, many university and college programs suffer from low student persistence rates. Disciplinary identity is a theoretical framework that refers to how students see themselves with respect to a discipline and is related to long-term membership in a disciplinary community. The theory has been effectively applied in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to understand students' success and persistence. This study examines the effects of performance/competence, recognition, interest and sense of belonging on the academic persistence of computer science students. A survey of approximately 1,640 computing students as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project was developed and administered at three metropolitan public institutions. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to validate the sub-constructs of identity for use in a computing identity model. Then, a structural equation model (SEM) was constructed as a snapshot of the structural relationships for describing and quantifying the impact of the identity subconstructs on persistence. The results indicated that our model for CS aligns with prior research on disciplinary identity but also adds the importance of sense of belonging. In addition, the findings indicate that students' academic persistence is directly influenced by their interest. A better understanding of these factors may leverage insight into students’ academic persistence in computer science/engineering programs as well as a meaningful lens of analysis for further curriculum and extracurricular activities.