Seminars

The Participation Problem: The Role of Capital in Computing Education

In this seminar, I present my research on capital in computing education, and how this affects student participation in the field.

Abstract Computing education in Western countries has traditionally suffered from low levels of participation and diversity among its student population. In order to broaden participation in the field, we need to understand why students engage with the subject, and what they aspire to get out of their education. One way of doing so is through the Bourdieusian concept of capital (e.g. social, economic, cultural), which relates to an individual’s position in the social stratification structure, and helps to explain their patterns of social behaviours. During this work-in-progress research seminar, I will share preliminary findings from a computing capital survey which I have developed and distributed among students at different Swedish universities. Among other things, it will become clearer which factors are predictive of student participation in computing education, and I will discuss how we can use such findings for broadening participation in the field.

The digital divide does not stop at access

Seminar given as part of the series on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion hosted by the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre in collaboration with the University of Cambridge.

Abstract Around the world, young people from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to have access to a home computer and to computing at school, and are underrepresented in computing-related qualifications and careers. Although national curricula in the four nations of the UK all include some form of mandatory computing in schools, the uptake of computing qualifications and careers amongst those from disadvantaged groups is still low. In this seminar, Hayley and Thom provided an overview of research into socioeconomic disadvantage and computing in the UK and beyond. They also shared some initial results from a qualitative study conducted with young people at risk of educational disadvantage in the UK, focusing on their attitudes towards computing as a discipline and their own digital capabilities. Read the blog post about this seminar here.