GSE/RES Beyond the Deficit Model: Gender Schemas, Computing, Preferences, and IT Careeer Choices

智力优势：这种混合方法的研究将探讨计算的不同方面是如何嵌入在男性和女性的性别图式，以及这种嵌入如何与学生对这些方面的看法，以及与课程和职业意向相互作用。计算与其他STEM领域的不同之处在于，它与人们从小就遇到的普遍存在的日常对象相关联。此外，计算机还包含了一套复杂的可能的实践，这些实践与性别图式深深纠缠在一起。例如，在西方文化中，对“看引擎盖下”的兴趣和对人工制品本身的兴趣，就好像它是一个玩具一样，与男性气质有关，而在社会背景下使用物体作为工具，注意社会奖励，与女性气质有关。这种玩具与工具的二元性可能表现在计算方面，男孩对修理或黑客计算机感兴趣，而女孩则被博客和社交网络所吸引。正是这些二元性，以及与之相关的计算的具体用途，维持了相对稳定的性别关联。虽然男孩和女孩都使用计算机，但继续与计算机课程、专业和职业联系在一起的计算机使用模式似乎植根于男性文化模式。因此，日常使用可以实现性别平等，而以职业为导向的态度和行为则会导致性别差距越来越大。本研究从定性探索开始，然后开发基于理论的更新量表，衡量中学生当前的计算实践是如何生活和性别化的。这些新措施将用于对马里兰州霍华德和乔治王子县公立学校的2 000名学生进行的全面调查。这项研究纳入了两个潜在的变革性概念：认识到文化背景下的计算和发展的最新措施，可操作的理论概念，还没有定量探讨在这种情况下的重要性。该研究还摆脱了“赤字模型”，即女孩缺乏热情被视为女孩缺陷的结果，并专注于为什么计算机专业未能吸引女孩。更广泛的影响：这些发现和新的措施将有助于教育工作者和研究人员了解女孩对计算机课程和职业没有吸引力的原因。这对于设计和实施高中计算机科学课程以及努力增加计算机专业和专业的包容性做法非常重要。研究结果还将为设计对女孩和男孩都有吸引力的高中课程提供指导，并为宣传与男性性别模式没有严格联系的计算机工作方面提供指导。一个多样化的本科生和研究生群体将培养研究技能和对高等教育机会的理解。UMBC与学区的伙伴关系将得到加强。中学生将接触到研究和研究人员的多元化群体。调查结果将在社会学、教育和信息技术学科以及教育工作者和家长中广泛传播。

Intellectual Merit: This mixed-method study will investigate how different aspects of computing are embedded within masculine and feminine gender schemas, and how this embedding interacts with students' perceptions of these aspects, as well as with course-taking and career intentions. Computing differs from other STEM fields in that it is associated with a pervasive everyday object which people encounter from an early age. The computer, moreover, incorporates a complex set of possible practices which are deeply entangled with gender schemas. For example, interest in "looking under the hood" and approaching an artifact as interesting per se, as if it were a toy, is associated with masculinity in Western cultures, whereas using objects as a tool within a social context, with attention to social rewards, is associated with femininity. This toy vs. tool duality may manifest in computing with boys showing interest in fixing or hacking the computer, and with girls being attracted to blogs and social networking. It is these dualities, and the specific uses of computing associated with them, that maintain relatively stable gender associations. While boys and girls both use computers, the modalities of computer use that continue to be associated with computer courses, majors and careers appear to be embedded within a masculine cultural schema. Thus, everyday use can equalize across genders while career-oriented attitudes and behaviors see an increasing gender disparity. This research begins with a qualitative exploration and then develops theoretically based, updated scales which measure how current computing practices of middle school students are lived and gendered. These new measures will be used in a comprehensive survey to be administered to 2,000 students in the Howard and Prince George's County, Maryland, public schools. The study incorporates two potentially transformative concepts: recognition of the importance of the cultural context of computing and development of updated measures which operationalize theoretical concepts that have not been quantitatively explored in this context. The research also moves away from a "deficit model" where girls' lack of enthusiasm is seen as a result of deficiencies in girls, and, focus on why computing majors are failing to attract girls. Broader Impacts: The findings and the new measures will help educators and researchers understand what girls find unattractive about computer courses and occupations. This is important for design and implementation of computer science curricula in high schools and for efforts to increase inclusive practices in computing majors and professions. The findings will also provide guidelines for designing curricula in high school that are attractive to girls as well as boys, and for publicizing aspects of computing jobs that are not strictly associated with masculine gender schemas. A diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students will develop research skills and an understanding of opportunities in higher education. UMBC's partnership with school districts will be enhanced. Middle school students will be exposed to research and a diverse group of researchers. Findings will be disseminated broadly, across sociology, education and IT disciplines and to educators as well as parents.