Computer education culture discourages girls, survey says

From Staff Reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The methods used to teach computer programming classes are turning off girls at both the high school and college level, a new report says.

As a result, it says, women make up just 20 per cent of the high-tech workforce.

The report comes from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Entitled, Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age, it suggests information technology courses need to change in order engage the participation of more girls.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Internet Society

The AAUW believes violent video games and programming classes that focus too narrowly on hardware and the mechanics of information technology are leading girls to turn away from pursuing careers in computers.

The report suggests teachers need to incorporate technology concepts into a more diverse subject areas -- like music, history, or the sciences -- in order to spark girls' interest.

The report was authored by the AAUW Educational Foundation Commission on Technology, Gender, and Teacher Education. It includes results from an online survey of 900 teachers, focus group research involving more than 70 girls, and reviews of existing research.

At the high school level, the report indicates only 17% of computer science "Advanced Placement" test takers are girls. At the college level, women receive less than 28% of computer science bachelor degrees, and just 9% of engineering-related bachelor's degrees.

The report concludes girls find computer programming classes "tedious and dull" and games "boring, redundant, and violent."

The report suggests girls could step in and fill the information technology job shortage if the educational establishment makes computer programming courses more interesting to girls. And it stresses that girls' ability to simply use computers to send e-mail or surf the web is no substitute for comprehensive computer study.

"When it comes to today's computer culture, the bottom line is that while more girls are on the train, they aren't the ones driving," said Pamela Haag, the Foundation's director of research.

"To get girls "under the hood" of technology, they need to see that it gets them where they want to go. And for a large part of the population, that process must start in the classroom.

American Association of University Women Educational Foundation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.