Addressing ICT curriculum recommendations from surveys of academics, workplace graduates and employers

This project is based on selected recommendations of the information and communications technology (ICT) scoping study undertaken by Koppi and Naghdy in 2009, in particular: improving community perceptions of the ICT profession (recommendation two); understanding students better in relation to attrition, women in ICT and gender inclusive pedagogy (recommendation four); further investigations of work integrated learning (recommendation six); and improving the understanding between the teaching-research-industry-learning nexus (recommendation eight). The project team formulated these recommendations into five key project areas: perceptions; attrition; gender; teaching-research-industry-learning nexus; and work integrated learning. This report summarises the main findings from each project area and then presents conclusions and recommendations pertinent across the five areas.

[1]  Matthew C. Clarke,et al.  Teaching the empirical approach to designing human-computer interaction via an experiential group project , 1998, SIGCSE '98.

[2]  Terry Wareham,et al.  Reconcepturalising the teaching-research nexus. , 2007 .

[3]  Su White,et al.  The research teaching nexus in the computing disciplines: a comparative survey , 2007 .

[4]  E. Wainwright,et al.  Invisible Experiences: Understanding the Choices and Needs of University Students with Dependent Children. , 2010 .

[5]  Vincent Tinto,et al.  Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. , 1988 .

[6]  M. Castañeda,et al.  College Persistence: Structural Equations Modeling Test of an Integrated Model of Student Retention. , 1993 .

[7]  R. Bogdan Qualitative research for education : an introduction to theory and methods / by Robert C. Bogdan and Sari Knopp Biklen , 1997 .

[8]  Joanne McGrath Cohoon,et al.  Gendered experiences of computing graduate programs , 2007, SIGCSE.

[9]  Julie Fisher,et al.  Evaluation framework underpinning the digital divas programme , 2011, ITiCSE '11.

[10]  C. Frieze Diversifying the images of computer science: undergraduate women take on the challenge! , 2005, SIGCSE '05.

[11]  Barbara S. Metzner,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition , 1985 .

[12]  Dennis M. O'Toole,et al.  A Multinomial Logit Model of College Stopout and Dropout Behavior , 2005, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[13]  C. McLachlan,et al.  Student perceptions of ICT: a gendered analysis , 2010, ACE '10.

[14]  M. Huber,et al.  Research to classroom: experiences from a multi-institutional course in smart home technologies , 2005, SIGCSE '05.

[15]  Judy McKay,et al.  The next wave of gender projects in IT curriculum teaching at universities , 2006 .

[16]  France Bélanger,et al.  Are technical and soft skills required?: the use of structural equation modeling to examine factors leading to retention in the cs major , 2008, ICER '08.

[17]  Allan Fisher,et al.  Unlocking the Clubhouse : Women in Computing by Allan Fisher , 2015 .

[18]  Joanne McGrath Cohoon,et al.  Toward improving female retention in the computer science major , 2001, CACM.

[19]  Annemieke Craig,et al.  A gendered view of computer professionals: preliminary results of a survey , 2002, SGCS.

[20]  Patricia Wallace Teaching Tip: Using Collaboration to Provide Students with an Internship Experience in an Information Systems Course , 2007, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[21]  H. Gee Go, girl, go! , 1998 .

[22]  Susan H. Nielsen,et al.  Gender stereotypes prevail in ICT: a research review , 2009, SIGMIS CPR '09.

[23]  Mark Stater The Impact of Financial Aid on College GPA at Three Flagship Public Institutions , 2009 .

[24]  M. Blomqvist Absent women : Research on gender relations in IT education mediated by Swedish newspapers , 2010 .

[25]  Susan M. Haller,et al.  Gender differences in computer science students , 2003, SIGCSE.

[26]  Neil Harrison,et al.  The impact of negative experiences, dissatisfaction and attachment on first year undergraduate withdrawal , 2006 .

[27]  R. Powell Improving the persistence of first-year undergraduate women in computer science , 2008, SIGCSE '08.

[28]  E. Shoikova,et al.  University-industry network , 2004, 27th International Spring Seminar on Electronics Technology: Meeting the Challenges of Electronics Technology Progress, 2004..

[29]  S. Mann,et al.  Boredom in the lecture theatre: An investigation into the contributors, moderators and outcomes of boredom amongst university students , 2009 .

[30]  Sandro Morasca,et al.  Courses for software professionals as two-way communication channels between academia and industry , 2006, SSEE '06.

[31]  S. Moon,et al.  Graduates' Work: Organisational Change and Students' Attributes. , 1997 .

[32]  Leone Hinton,et al.  Causes of attrition in first year students in science foundation courses and recommendations for intervention , 2007 .

[33]  Sally Nimon,et al.  Generation Y and Higher Education: The Other Y2K , 2007 .

[34]  Joe F. Chicharo,et al.  Managing educational change in the ICT discipline at the tertiary education level , 2009 .

[35]  Tanya J. McGill,et al.  Information Technology Certification: A Student Perspective , 2005, Int. J. Inf. Commun. Technol. Educ..

[36]  S. Beekhoven,et al.  Explaining Academic Progress via Combining Concepts of Integration Theory and Rational Choice Theory , 2002 .

[37]  Peter Komisarczuk,et al.  Review of work experience in a bachelor of information technology , 2007 .

[38]  Hamish Coates,et al.  Setting and monitoring academic standards for Australian higher education: a discussion paper , 2009 .

[39]  G. Valenduc,et al.  Work organisation and skills in ICT professions : the gender dimension , 2008 .

[40]  M. Robinson,et al.  More Maths Grads Project - the HE Curriculum theme , 2009 .

[41]  D. Boud,et al.  Learning for real: work-based education in universities , 2000 .

[42]  Julie E. Mills,et al.  Gender Inclusive Engineering Education , 2010 .

[43]  M. Healey Linking research and teaching: exploring disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning , 2005 .

[44]  Chris Bissell,et al.  Still a gendered technology? Issues in teaching information and communication technologies at the UK Open University , 2003 .

[45]  John M. Braxton,et al.  The Influence of Active Learning on the College Student Departure Process , 2000 .

[46]  Angela Carbone,et al.  Performance and progression of first year ICT students , 2008, ACE '08.

[47]  G. Murphy,et al.  Education for professionals through work-integrated learning , 2006 .

[48]  Wendy L. Cukier,et al.  Gender and information technology: implications of definitions , 2002, SGCS.

[49]  G. Johnes,et al.  Never Give Up on the Good Times: Student Attrition in the UK , 2004 .

[50]  Gavriel Salvendy,et al.  Gender Differences in Persistence in Computer-Related Fields , 1988 .

[51]  S. Marginson,et al.  International Student Security: References , 2010 .

[52]  Neil Anderson,et al.  “I would rather spend time with a person than a machine”: Qualitative Findings from the Girls and ICT Survey , 2006 .

[53]  John P. Bean Dropouts and turnover: The synthesis and test of a causal model of student attrition , 1980 .

[54]  Stuart Palmer,et al.  Improving Outcomes-Based Engineering Education in Australia , 2008 .

[55]  ณชญาภัส รอดประยูร,et al.  กรอบทักษะในการปฏิบัติงานของบุคลากรสายงานวิชาชีพสนับสนุนด้านไอซีทีในประเทศไทยด้วยการประยุกต์ใช้ Skills Framework for the Information Age THE SKILLS FRAMEWORK OF ICT OPERATIONAL STAFF FOR THAI ICT PROFESSIONAL IN THAILAND APPLY BY SKILLS FRAMEWORK FOR THE I , 2015 .

[56]  Dubravka Cecez-Kecmanovic,et al.  IS Knowledge and Skills Sought by Employers: A Content Analysis of Australian IS Early Career Online Job Advertisements , 2008 .

[57]  Raymond Lister On blooming first year programming, and its blooming assessment , 2000, ACSE '00.

[58]  Gerda Siann,et al.  Choices and Barriers: Factors influencing women's choice of higher education in science, engineering and technology , 2001 .

[59]  E. Seymour,et al.  Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave The Sciences , 1997 .

[60]  Richard C. Thomas,et al.  Use of large databases for group projects at the nexus of teaching and research , 2004, ITiCSE '04.

[61]  L. Still Gender, Leadership and Communications , 2006 .

[62]  Lenore Blum,et al.  CS4HS: an outreach program for high school CS teachers , 2007, SIGCSE.

[63]  Marie Griffiths,et al.  Moving In, Moving Up, Moving Out? : A Survey of Women in ICT , 2008 .

[64]  Su White,et al.  Relating research and teaching: learning from experiences and beliefs , 2009, ITiCSE '09.

[65]  J. McMillan,et al.  Course change and attrition from higher education , 2005 .

[66]  Janice Orrell,et al.  Work-integrated Learning Programmes: Management and Educational Quality , 2004 .

[67]  Iwona Miliszewska,et al.  The Issue of Gender Equity in Computer Science – What Students Say , 2006 .

[68]  Susan C. Herring,et al.  Gender Differences among Students in Computer Science and Applied Information Technology , 2006 .

[69]  Abdulai Salifu,et al.  A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication , 2007 .

[70]  Denise E. Agosto Women and information technology: Research on underrepresentation , 2007, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[71]  John Hattie,et al.  The Relationship Between Research and Teaching: A Meta-Analysis , 1996 .

[72]  I. Boivie Women, Men and Programming : Knowledge, Metaphors and Masculinity , 2010 .

[73]  Monique Volman,et al.  Inclusiveness and ICT in education: a focus on gender, ethnicity and social class , 2005, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[74]  B. Bloom Taxonomy of educational objectives , 1956 .

[75]  Mohini Singh,et al.  Work Integrated Learning in Information Technology Education , 2004, Information and Communication Technologies and Real-Life Learning.

[76]  Julie Fisher,et al.  ICT and girls: the need for a large scale intervention programme , 2007 .

[77]  Julie Fisher,et al.  Creating digital divas: scaffolding perception change through secondary school and university alliances , 2010, ITiCSE '10.

[78]  L. R. Shade,et al.  Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender and Culture , 1995 .

[79]  Y. Salamonson,et al.  Hate the course or hate to go: semester differences in first year nursing attrition. , 2008, Nurse education today.

[80]  J. McGrath Cohoon,et al.  Attaching Women to the CS Major , 2005 .

[81]  Vincent Tinto Dropout from Higher Education: A Theoretical Synthesis of Recent Research , 1975 .

[82]  Michael W. Matier,et al.  Choosing and leaving science in highly selective institutions , 1994 .

[83]  Rhiannon Bury She’s Geeky: The Performance of Identity among Women Working in IT , 2011 .

[84]  Carol Frieze,et al.  Building an effective computer science student organization: the Carnegie Mellon women@SCS action plan , 2002, SGCS.

[85]  Y. Guerrier,et al.  ‘Technical, but not very….’: constructing gendered identities in IT-related employment , 2009 .

[86]  Moira Munro,et al.  Leaving university early: exploring the differences between continuing and non‐continuing students , 2004 .

[87]  Fran Ferrier,et al.  Stay, Play Or Give It Away? Students Continuing, Changing or Leaving University Study in First Year. , 2006 .

[88]  Stephen J. Zilora Industry-based web services project as a classroom teaching tool , 2004, CITC5 '04.

[89]  Dino Schweitzer,et al.  Designing interactive visualization tools for the graphics classroom , 1992, SIGCSE '92.

[90]  M. O. Ilori,et al.  Industry-academic relations: An assessment of the linkages between a university and some enterprises in Nigeria , 1996 .

[91]  J. Hyde,et al.  The Gender Similarities Hypothesis , 2005 .

[92]  Ching-Chiu Lin,et al.  Learning in Place: Profiles of Youth Media Arts Practices in an Informal Learning Setting , 2015 .

[93]  Lyndel Bates,et al.  Preparing students for the professional workplace: who has responsibility for what? , 2007 .

[94]  Carol-joy Patrick The WIL (Work Integrated Learning) report: a national scoping study , 2008 .

[95]  R. Bennett Determinants of Undergraduate Student Drop Out Rates in a University Business Studies Department , 2003 .

[96]  Richard H. James External sponsored projects: lessons learned , 2005, SGCS.

[97]  E. Murphy,et al.  Retention initiatives for ICT based courses , 2005, Proceedings Frontiers in Education 35th Annual Conference.

[98]  D. Caulley Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods , 2007 .

[99]  Lisa Greber,et al.  Women and Computers: An Introduction , 1990, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society.

[100]  Agnetha Broos,et al.  Gender and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Anxiety: Male Self-Assurance and Female Hesitation , 2005, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[101]  Carolyn Jacobson,et al.  Information Systems Enrollments: Challenges and Strategies , 2007, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[102]  Judy Young The Extent to Which Information Communication Technology Careers Fulfil the Career Ideals of Girls , 2003, Australas. J. Inf. Syst..

[103]  Annemieke Craig Attracting Women to Computing: A Framework for Evaluating Intervention Programmes , 2010 .

[104]  Michelle Lasen,et al.  Education and career pathways in Information Communication Technology: What are schoolgirls saying? , 2010, Comput. Educ..

[105]  Gloria Crisp,et al.  Student Characteristics, Pre-College, College, and Environmental Factors as Predictors of Majoring in and Earning a STEM Degree: An Analysis of Students Attending a Hispanic Serving Institution , 2009 .

[106]  T. Dee Teachers and the Gender Gaps in Student Achievement , 2005, The Journal of Human Resources.

[107]  M. Fokkens-Bruinsma,et al.  Improving student learning through the curriculum. , 2009 .

[108]  Mantz Yorke,et al.  Non‐completion of Undergraduate Study: some implications for policy in higher education , 1998 .

[109]  Julie Fisher Australian Women in Information Technology , 2007, Australas. J. Inf. Syst..

[110]  Iwona Miliszewska,et al.  Encouraging Girls to Consider a Career in ICT: A Review of Strategies , 2010, J. Inf. Technol. Educ. Innov. Pract..

[111]  Richard E. Boyatzis,et al.  Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development , 1998 .

[112]  Judithe Sheard,et al.  Towards a gender inclusive information and communications technology curriculum: a perspective from graduates in the workforce , 2010, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[113]  Donald A. Carpenter,et al.  Meaningful Information Systems Internships , 2003, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..

[114]  C. Cheong,et al.  Modelling IS Student Retention in Taiwan: Extending Tinto and Bean’s Model with Self-Efficacy , 2010 .

[115]  S. Schwartz,et al.  Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition , 1987 .

[116]  Ralf Klamma,et al.  The difficult bridge between university and industry: a case study in computer science teaching , 2010 .

[117]  Gill Kirkup,et al.  Gender Issues in Learning and Working with Information Technology: Social Constructs and Cultural Contexts , 2010 .

[118]  Elisabeth Hovdhaugen Transfer and dropout: different forms of student departure in Norway , 2009 .

[119]  Education and Training Higher Education Support Act 2003 - Administration Guidelines 2012 , 2013 .

[120]  Barney Pell,et al.  The research–teaching nexus: a case study of students' awareness, experiences and perceptions of research , 2010 .

[121]  Lecia Jane Barker,et al.  Exploring factors that influence computer science introductory course students to persist in the major , 2009, SIGCSE '09.

[122]  J Mcgrath Cohoon,et al.  Recruiting and retaining women in undergraduate computing majors , 2002, SGCS.

[123]  Gary N. Marks,et al.  Completing University: Characteristics and Outcomes of Completing and Non-Completing Students. Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. Research Report 51. , 2007 .

[124]  Hesa HOLIS - Higher Education Statistics Agency Online Information System , 2006 .

[125]  M. Volman,et al.  Gender Equity and Information Technology in Education: The Second Decade , 2001 .

[126]  Fazel Naghdy,et al.  The case for ICT work-integrated learning from graduates in the workplace , 2010, ACE '10.

[127]  Dianne Hagan,et al.  Employer Satisfaction with ICT graduates , 2004, ACE.

[128]  Alistair Moffat,et al.  What Drives Curriculum Change? , 2004, ACE.

[129]  Grant Braught,et al.  Empirical investigation throughout the CS curriculum , 2000, SIGCSE '00.

[130]  Judy McKay,et al.  An Inconvenient Truth: the invisibility of Women in ICT , 2007, Australas. J. Inf. Syst..

[131]  John Grundy,et al.  Women and computers , 2008 .

[132]  David Mackay,et al.  Expanding the realm of best practices in cooperative industry-based learning in information systems and information technology: an inter-institutional investigation in Australian higher education , 2008 .

[133]  Judy Camp,et al.  Capstone course creates useful business products and corporate-ready students , 2004, SGCS.

[134]  Sarah J. Stein,et al.  Beyond mapping and embedding graduate attributes: bringing together quality assurance and action learning to create a validated and living curriculum , 2004 .

[135]  Joseph Catanio,et al.  Developing LaSalle's IT graduate certificate program partnered with industry , 2005, SIGITE '05.