Dr Neil Anderson is a Senior Lecturer at James Cook University, Australia. See staff page http://www.faess.jcu.edu.au/soe/staff/neil.erson.html
Introduction
Early research related to gender and learning technologies and other equity target groups concentrated merely on counting machines and occasionally examining and comparing the time that different groups spent on computers. Ratios of computers to students and time spent at the computer were considered to be paramount issues. Recent research suggests that merely spending more time on computers does not lead to successful outcomes (Wenglinsky, 1998). Little consideration has been given to the differences within marginalised groups and the intersection between the groups or the social construction of differential roles within learning technologies.
Apple's (1987) critical examination of learning technology use was an exception to rule and he successfully predicted that social conditioning combined with traditional school practices would lead to streaming of predominantly working class girls into word-processing and mainly white, middle class males into programming and other computer tasks considered to be 'higher level' and therefore highly paid and powerful positions. Apple (1987) and other researchers, however, misread the labour market and predicted that technology would displace a tremendous number of workers and only provide a meagre number of jobs in return. Recent statistics from the U.S. confirm the massive number of people required for employment in this area and the expanding nature of job creation in computer related fields.
The Australian government has made special allowances for immigration of people already trained in computer science. Tinkler et al (1996) claimed that mastery of information technologies was the new key competency for employment. A recent Victorian Government report (1998, p.63) stated that, "there is nothing optional about involvement in IT - it is an imperative in VET (Vocational Education and Training)". Despite the growing importance of IT, women continue to be under-represented in this critical area in both education and employment.
Harris et al (1998, p.63) argues that "the present generation of working women still grapple with the legacy of social conditioning and lack of access to technology in their school years and in their higher education. In addition their are few female role models available for women working in IT. Younger women, however are less constrained by these factors and are better prepared to take their place in the workforce." This statement implies a level of improvement and this is reflected in teachers opinions about the 'disappearance' of gender related barriers to IT (Bransgrove,1994). The facts indicate otherwise. The included graph shows the declining representation of women in proportion to men studying computer science and information technologies in Australian Universities since 1992 and highlights the growing rather than diminishing problem.
Girls are under-represented in school computer courses, computer clubs and camps and in computer science based careers and do not spend as much time at home using computers as boys do. In QLD girls' enrolments in the higher level computing subject, IPT, fell from 39.5% in 1991 to 33.4% in 1995. 70% of IPT teachers are male compared to the 49% general level of males in the secondary school system. Computer texts and materials in Australian schools were found to contain a heavy bias towards males who were often depicted in positions of power in relation to computing as opposed to passive roles assigned to girls and women (Fitzgerald, 1988 cited in Bransgrove).
Participation by Australian girls in computer science courses at a tertiary level typically range from 10 - 30%. At Griffith University the enrolment figures for women in IT courses in 1996 was less than 20% and in the United States female participation in computer science courses at an undergraduate level vary up to 36% and decline to 13% for doctoral students (Clarke and Teague, 1994). U.S. statistics show that in 1991, 681 males graduated with a doctorate in computer and information science compared to 116 females (Kirkpatrick and Cuban, 1998). Data from India show female participation levels at 6 to 8.7% (Maitra and Kumari, 1996). In 1996 fewer than two in ten high level computer jobs were held by women (Grundy, 1996).
Harding (1997) claims that technology has been the most strongly gendered of all school curriculum areas. Low levels of participation by girls in higher level computing courses may have an increasing impact on career choices with Australian career forecasting agencies predicting a huge upsurge in the number of information technology jobs that will be available in the future. The U.S. Department of Labor predicted that between 1994 and 2005 there will be a 90% rise in computer engineering and computer science jobs and a 93% increase in system analysis jobs and ranked this area as one of the most rapidly expanding job markets.
Socially Constructed Gender Bias in Information Technologies
A common misconception has been the males are intrinsically more able in the computer science area than females. A meta-analysis of over 100 studies by Burgo (1993) indicated that male and female students had comparable results on post-instructional tests. Kirkpatrick and Cuban (1998) found that boys and girls had very similar achievement scores when they had experienced a similar amount of time and types of computer experiences. Durnell, Glissov and Siann (1995) found in their Scottish study that girls and women, despite some initial hesitation, became very pragmatic and confident users of computers with experience.
Even though girls and women have demonstrated equal competence with computers, many studies have confirmed that girls and women often undervalue their abilities and potential in this area. Spertus (1991), Cottrell (1992) and Herring (1994) believe that gender stereotyping from an early age contributes to the gender related differentials in confidence and direct attention to the difference in childrens' toys and the dominance of male oriented computer games. One study looked at images from many computer games and discovered an almost total male portrayal of characters with the only female images being of a obese queen and a princess lying at the feet of the prince. Plunkett (1997) stated that, "about 80% of the billion dollar software segment is specifically designed and marketed for teenage boys … less than 2% is targeted at girls".
While some researchers such as Nolan, McKinnon and Soler (1992, p.313) argue that this disparity indicates girls' common sense and pragmatic use of computers compared to boys' "macho machine fetish", others would argue that boys' early prior experiences with computers leads to a feeling of comfort and familiarity with machines that provides an anxiety free platform to launch into other applications and uses.
Another important factor in schools has been the physical dominance of males students who often see computers and technology as an exclusive male domain and use various means of harassment to effectively exclude girls from computer use, especially during times where teacher supervision is less. This is evident in computer use out of regular class lessons such as lunch time library computer use where girls are often made to feel unwelcome or physically outmanoeuvred when trying to gain computer access. On-line harassment of girls and women has been reported widely in the literature and the press. Wajcman (1991,p.28) commented that "I believe that women's exclusion from and rejection from technology is made more explicable by an analysis of technology as a culture that expresses and consolidates relations among men. If technical competence is an integral part of masculine gender identity, why should women be expected to aspire to it?" Males may see female participation in IT areas as a threat to their gender identity and respond in a threatening or negative ways or some girls may view participation in certain uses of computers to be unfeminine.
Although important female identities such as Grace Hopper contributed significantly to the development of computer technology, the history of this field is heavily dominated by male figures. Wajcman (1991) and Cockburn (1987) claim that the male dominance of technology occurred as a result of the separation of home and paid work during the early stages of industrialisation. Women were refused entry to the trades and to areas where technical expertise could be developed and so were excluded from becoming a significant partner in the development of machines and software operating systems.
Cockburn (1987) argues that when women became competent in areas such as word-processing, roles were redefined and computer work undertaken by women was devalued. Wajcman (1991) develops the potency of the historical dominance of computer development by males a step further by demonstrating that the whole culture of IT is sex-stereotyped with the language and symbolism of technology being masculine in nature.
In schools, girls have been treated differently and often in subtle ways not consciously perceived by teachers or students. Researchers examining classroom interactions have discovered that in IT classes questions are much more likely to be directed to boys. When boys ask for help they are often given explanations on how to achieve the task whereas the teacher is more likely to do the task for girls. Text books are usually dominated by images of males in positions of power and the few images of females often portray subordinate roles. Computer magazines are improving in their inclusion of female journalists and commentators but continue to be male dominated in their imagery and overall stance.
Another barrier identified by Scott (1996) is that computer careers are often misconceived by students who view these occupations as the domain of computer nerds working in an isolated fashion on computer programming and little else. Some argue that this image is particularly distasteful to young women but many young men also do not feel comfortable with an isolated, unsociable profession where the greatest contact is with machinery rather than other people.
Scott's work in identifying the true nature of IT professions resulted in a very different picture from the popular misconceptions. Women working in high level IT careers had one of the highest job satisfaction rates and outlined the social nature of working in IT teams and helping others. Scott's surveys of secondary schools girls 'wish lists' for a perfect career matched in many respects the elements of IT professionals' tasks (as identified by women working in the field). The social conditioning of girls leads to the belief that computer careers are not for 'feminine' women whereas the reality of the tasks often suit women very well.
Scott (1996) and Sanders (1993) have been successful in increasing female students participation in IT at the school and career level in targeted districts by teaching awareness and strategy programs to pre-service teachers, teachers and university staff and by making explicit the true nature of many computer professions. It is not clear from the research of Scott and Sanders whether this success has been confined mainly to advantaged social groups eg. white, middle class girls or whether girls with membership of other marginalised groups have also gained greater access.
Anderson's (1999) five year study demonstrated gains in computer skills, academic skills and self-concept areas for a group of elementary school girls and boys from low socio-economic backgrounds with intellectual disabilities. The intervention strategies based around relevant higher order computer tasks were described by Catherine Armitage in the Australian Newspaper (1998) as differing greatly from the usual 'drill and practice' software often employed with disadvantaged students. Showcasing best practice can be effective, as successful programs often have strategies embedded in them to disrupt one or more of the negative constructions that serve to exclude students. Anderson's intervention reverses the traditional power relationships in primary class situations by providing students in equity target groups with advanced learning technology knowledge and peer tutoring skills whereas Sanders and Scott's strategies are designed to affect the sensitivity and awareness of older students, pre-service teachers and practicing teachers and prospective tertiary students in the IT sector.
Identifying and Acting on Barriers
Kaplan and Farrell (1995 cited in Spender, p.233), among others claim that dwelling overly on the barriers faced by marginalised groups to computer participation and access creates its own barrier or self-fulfilling prophesy by building up a deficit model. They claim that women who have grown up in an electronic world will be better equipped to participate and contribute to this field and that many of the difficulties have already disappeared. Garbutcheon Singh and Gilbert (1992, p.5) on the other hand claim that a requirement for a socially critical orientation is to "identify those aspects of society which frustrate the pursuit of rationality, social justice and a fulfilling life for all, rather than just the elite few, and identify ways which they can be overcome." Given that many teachers and educators appear to have little understanding of the barriers to girls' participation in IT or believe that they do not exist and the declining rates of participation by females in this field, credibility appears to favour the identification and elimination of barriers faced by many students due to their gender, race, socio-economic circumstances, disabilities or any combination of these factors.
Conclusion
Spender (1995, P.16) points out that "the computer is not a toy, it is the site of wealth, power and influence, now and in the future. Women-and indigenous people and those with few resources cannot afford to be marginalised or excluded from this new medium. To do so will risk becoming information poor. It will not be to count; to be locked out of full participation in society in the same way that illiterate people have been disenfranchised in a print world." The converse argument is that the future development of technology will be poorer if it is allowed input only from a narrow and advantaged social group and ignores the rich and diverse contributions from the whole community.
Dot Point Summary of Issues Found in the Literature
· Lack of female role models shown in the classroom, the media and the home.
· Computer games are often designed by male programmers with male interests reflected in the characters and design.
· Computer science subjects are often linked to mathematics, another subject often thought to be 'male-oriented'.
· Boys are more likely to be rewarded for their computer work by peers, teachers or parents.
· Models at computer conferences and in the media are male dominated.
· There is a cumulative effect of disadvantage and membership of more than one disadvantaged group compounds problems of participation and access.
· Girls do not have as high a level of home computer ownership as boys.
· Girls often report school computer classes as being boring and irrelevant.
· Girls often have less computer experience when commencing secondary computer subjects than boys do.
· Girls are encouraged to do word processing tasks rather than programming tasks.
· Teaching arrangements may not suit girls learning styles, some researchers claim that girls prefer helping each other and sharing in groups rather than individual, isolated work.
· Choosing subjects perceived to be 'male oriented' may cause girls to avoid them, feeling that they may jeopardise their popularity and lead to sex based harassment, ridicule etc
· Girls are often not encouraged as much as boys to choose information technology subjects.
· A false impression of the working conditions and roles of computer professionals are often given to school age girls.
· Achievements of women computer professionals have not be widely publicised.
· Articles in technology journals are more often written by men
· Many research studies indicate that girls have lower levels of confidence in their computer ability than boys.
· Questioning by teachers on computer related matters and classroom interaction has been often directed mainly to boys.
· Often girls experience in computing is confined to word processing tasks and usually does not cover as diverse a range as boys. Scott (1996) found that girls in single sex schools had experienced a wider range of computer tasks.
· Scott (1996) argued that the way computers are introduced in schools lacks relevance and interest to attract girls to undertake computing.
· Boys use computers more frequently out of school time and build up more experience.
· Boys tend to physically dominate the school computer resources. Researchers point out that this level of dominance increases when resources are scarce. This could further alienate girls from low socio-economic backgrounds.
· Females often view computers as useful tools but do not often see them as having intrinsic interest the way that males often do.
· The gap between male and female achievement is slim in the early years of schooling and widens as time goes on. This may indicate a gradual shift by girls away from computers and computer courses as the effects of subtle influences accumulates. In the words of Kirkpatrick and Cuban (1998, p58) 'girls are socialised away from computers by a combination of forces'. People often assume that girls are just not interested in computers or computer careers without considering why girls are not interested.
Strategies for increasing participation by girls - Dot Point Summary
· Women should be equal partners in the decision making process concerning technology planning, purchasing and program implementation.
· Bias should be recognised and steps taken to eliminate bias related to gender, especially in software which often shows bias in images and symbols.
· The male-oriented nature of computing should be challenged and reconstructed to include women.
· Boys and girls should be encouraged to participate in activities which are usually under represented by their gender.
· Female role models from the computer industry and from the history of information technology development should be made more visible to young girls. Examples of these are Ada Lovelace's invention of the concept of the algorithm, Grace Hopper's development of the assembler language or Roberta William's development of the first computer game.
· Early Initiative programs such as the (1997) YWSP program in Michigan have been purposely designed to interest girls in pursuing computer careers and have been proven successful in some respects.
· Head's (1982) research showed that girls were more likely to choose and enjoy information technology subjects if they were presented in a context that emphasised its social relevance.
· Clarke (1989) developed gender neutral games as an effective means of teaching programming to girls in a relevant context.
· The number of women teachers of IPT or other higher level computer courses needs to be increased.
· Teachers need to raise the proportion of time spent with female students to the same level as experienced by boys.
· Teachers should ensure that males do not dominate the use of computers - various strategies have been found to be effective here such as single sex days for lunch time computer access in some labs.
· Teachers should carefully consider the choice of examples used in curriculum materials so that they are not aimed solely at boys. Watson (1996) gives the example of 'football databases' as opposed to more neutral examples.
· Watson (1996) claims that schools should carefully consider gender issues when undertaking recruitment programs for subjects such as IPT.
· Computer books and texts need to be non-discriminatory in their portrayal of computer roles. Bransgrove (1994) found that Australian computer subject texts often included pictures and illustrations that portrayed girls and women in passive roles compared to boys and men who were shown in roles of dominance and power.
· Teachers need to be made aware that gender equity issues are relevant and important and do have an impact on girls' and boys' attitudes to computing. Brangrove's (1994) research found that often 'teachers began by stating adamantly that in their experience gender differences in computer do not exist'.
· Gender stereotyping of computer roles should be challenged eg. Word processing for women, programming and system analysis for men.
· While computer classes are dominated by boys, girls will be at a disadvantage. Research shows more opportunities exist for girls in classes with more balanced ratios.
· Harassment in classroom relations should be eliminated. This behaviour has been shown to be more prevalent in classrooms dominated by boys. Electronic harassment also needs to be addressed.
· Parents should be encouraged to provide computers in the home for both their sons and their daughters or should arrange equitable sharing of the home resources.
· Teachers, parents and guidance officers should encourage girls to seriously consider careers in the information technology area.
· Males sometimes attempt to construct classroom agendas by negative behaviours leading to girls receiving less attention. Effective behaviour management strategies need to be adopted to eliminate this form of male dominance. Clarke (1990) found that male dominance was more prevalent where little or no supervision was apparent.
· Teachers need to employ techniques that do not lead to dependency in girls. Often when teachers help boys with computer problems they will give clues or explanations but with girls they will often complete the task for them.
· Teacher education programs need to better prepare teachers to address gender equity issues. Matthews (1997) developed a gender equity hyper-media training package for pre-service teachers that provided real cases that teachers could relate to in a visually appealing format. The package requires participants to see and read about examples and reflect on them in writing. The presentation particularly targeted inequities in the technology area. The package was created because the author felt that most teachers failed to recognise the subtle gender inequities that existed in their own and other teachers' classrooms. Research on the effects of the training indicate substantial gains in teachers' attitudes and practices.
· Technology subjects have often been presented in a narrow way that is divorced from human concerns. Girls need the subject matter to be placed in a social context.
· Value should be given to girls' learning styles, skills and strengths. Many research studies report that boys often prefer to work alone on a computer problem, whereas girls prefer to work collaboratively in groups where they can explore the problem verbally (Harding,1997).
· Workshops and seminars designed to draw attention to gender inequities in school implementation of information technology and to overcome misconceptions about computer careers have been successful. Sanders (1993) presented courses to 200 educators from every U.S. state who in turn presented seminars in their states. Statistical analysis of computer science courses in schools undertaking the in-service confirmed increased enrolments by girls. In a Montana school, female enrolment increased by 31%, in Oklahoma by 30% and in the New York school, computer lab ratios went from 2:25 to 1:1. Results were dramatic in schools where the educators were willing and keen to address the issue.
· Students need to be presented with a wide range of computer applications so that they can develop an appreciation of the uses of computers.
· Holiday camps or special programs designed to introduce girls to a wide range of computer applications and options have been successful (Clarke and Teague, 1995).
· Mentoring schemes at tertiary level have been useful at tertiary level to assist women students to succeed at information technology courses.
References
Anderson, N. (1999). Using Higher Order Computer Tasks with Disadvantaged Students. Proceedings of the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), Atlantic City. 1999.
Armitage, K. (1998). Tapping into Keyboard Learning. Australian Newspaper special series on computers in the classroom, Dec 16, p.16.
Bransgrove, E. (1994). Teachers understanding of gender implications for learning with computers. Australian Educational Computing, May.
Clarke, V. (1989). Involving girls in programming. Australian Educational Computing, 4, (1)
Clarke, V. & Teague, G. (1994). Encouraging girls to study computer science - Should we even try? Australian Educational Computing, May.
Cockburn, T. & Arnold, E. (1985). Machinery of Dominance. Women, Men and Technical Knowledge. Boston University Press.
Cottrell, J. (1992). I'm a stranger here myself: A consideration of women and computing. Learning from the past and stepping into the future. The proceedings of the 1992 ACM SIGUCS User Services Conference. Nov, 1992.
Durndell, A., Glissov, P & Siann, G. (1995). Gender and computing: Persisting differences. Educational Research, 37, (21)
Harding, J. (1997). Gender and design and technology education. The Journal of Design and Technology Education, 2, (1)
Harris, J. (1998). Creating the Connection: Women and New Learning Technologies. Victorian Office of Training and Further Education Report, Melbourne.
Gilbert, N. (1990). Young children learning with turtles: An analysis of gender effects. Australian Educational Computing, 4, (2).
Gipson, J. (1997). Girls and computer technology. Educational Technology. March-April.
Garbutcheon Singh, M. & Gilbert, R. (1992). Focus on Cultural Learnings in Schools. Deparment of Education, Queensland.
Herring, S. (1994). Women in technology: Gender diffferences in computer mediated communications: Bringing familiar baggage to the new frontier. Http://www.women-online.com/women/women-tech.html
Kirkpatrick, H. & Cuban, L. (1998). Should we be worried? What the research says about gender differences in access, use, attitudes, and achievement with computers. Educational Technology, July-August.
Knupfer, N. (1997). Gendered by design. Educational Technology. March-April.
Levin, B. & Matthews, C. (1997). Using hypermedia to educate pre-service teachers about gender-equity issues in elementary schools classrooms. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 29, (3)
Maitra, K. & Kumari, H. (1996). Gender differences in the perceptions of choice of subjects pertaining to science. Gifted Education International, 11.
Milone, N. & Salpeter, J. (1996). Technology and Equity Issues. Technology and Learning, Jan.
Plunkett, S. (1997). Girls just want to have fun. Australian Newspaper. 22-23 November.
Sanders, J. (1993). Closing the gender gap. The Executive Educator, Sept.
Scott, V. (1996). Why are girls under represented? Ten years on. (1996). Australian Educational Computing.
Shashaani, L. (1995). Gender differences in mathematics experience and attitude and their relation to computer attitude. Educational Technology. May-June.
Spender, D. (1998). Boys First. Dale Spender Homepage. http://www.espc.com.au/dspender/intro/column/col_bf.html
Spender (1995). Nattering on the Net: Women, Power and Cyberspace. Spinifex Press.
Spertus, E. (1991). Why are there so few female computer scientists? Cambridge: MIT Artificial Intellegence Laboratory.
Stables, A. & Stables, S. (1995). Gender differences in students' approaches to A level subject choices and perceptions of A-level subjects: a study of first year A level students in tertiary college. Education Research, 37 (1).
Tinker, D., Lepani, B. & Mitchell, J. (1996). Education and Technology Convergence: A survey of technological infrastructure in education and the professional development and support of educators and trainers in information and communication technologies. AGPS, Canberra.
Wajcman, J. (1991). Feminism Confronts Technology. Proceedings from 'In Action for Equity: The Second Decade'. The Sixth international GASAT conference, Vol2. Allen and Unwin, Sydney.
Watson, G. (1996). Doing something about equity in IPT classes. QUICK, 61.
Wild, M. (1990). Some thoughts on computers in education. Australian Educational Computing, 5, (1)