Effective Strategies for Encouraging Girls in Informatics


ŞAHİN TİMAR Z., MISIRLI Ö.

17th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2023, held as part of the 25th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2023, Copenhagen, Danimarka, 23 - 28 Temmuz 2023, cilt.14021 LNCS, ss.377-392 identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
  • Cilt numarası: 14021 LNCS
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/978-3-031-35897-5_27
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Copenhagen
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Danimarka
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.377-392
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Barriers, Gender inequality, informatics, Strategies
  • Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Although the increasing availability of technology and its widespread use by people of all genders, women continue to be underrepresented in academic and industry careers related to Informatics. Research has consistently shown that a gender gap exists in computer science education, with a lower participation rate of female students than their male counterparts. Despite changes in technology and accessibility, similar obstacles persist, which necessitates a reexamination of the need to acknowledge these barriers and emphasize the development of strategies to eliminate them. To emphasize this, the aim of this study is to identify effective strategies for encouraging pre-university girls to pursue study informatics by gathering and analyzing the existing initiatives’ points of view. To reach this aim, we conducted phenomenological research with twelve initiatives from twelve different countries. We conducted semi-structured interviews to gather enriched information about the participants’ experiences. We analyzed the data inductively. As a result, we found mentorship programs, role models, aware teachers, collaboration with parents, early contact with computing, creating interest by challenges, broader knowledge about informatics, educating boys, and multidisciplinary approach in teaching as effective strategies.