Gendered differences in the participation of Australian tertiary computer science : Implications for schools

The representation of males continues to dominate that of females in Information Technology (IT) related studies at both the secondary and tertiary levels. This mixed method study utilises Eccles et al. (1983) Expectancy Value Model for exploring the social, psychological and motivational factors that influence individuals’ participation in Computer Science (CS) or non Computer Science (NCS) undergraduate courses (or majors) in Taiwan and Australia. This paper reports on the Australian data set, from a selected university in Melbourne, of surveys (n=106) and subsequent interviews (n=7). It was found that the most important reason for choosing to study CS for 55% of females was “career prospects” as opposed to “personal interest” for CS males and the majority of the NCS sample. However the reasons indicated by interviewees were in contrast to the survey finding. A conclusion is that the strength of subjective task values (STVs) which individuals attach to IT related subjects and or activities at the secondary level could very likely affect their subsequent participation or non-participation in an IT related field such as CS at the undergraduate level.