Gender and stereotypes in motivation to study computer programming for careers in multimedia

A multimedia university programme with relatively equal numbers of male and female students in elective programming subjects provided a rare opportunity to investigate female motivation to study and pursue computer programming in a career. The MSLQ was used to survey 85 participants. In common with research into deterrence of females from STEM domains, females displayed significantly lower self-efficacy and expectancy for success. In contrast to research into deterrence of females from STEM domains, both genders placed similar high values on computer programming and shared high extrinsic and intrinsic goal orientation. The authors propose that the stereotype associated with a creative multimedia career could attract female participation in computer programming whereas the stereotype associated with computer science could be a deterrent.

[1]  Tracy Camp,et al.  The incredible shrinking pipeline , 1997, CACM.

[2]  E. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[3]  B. Zimmerman Investigating Self-Regulation and Motivation: Historical Background, Methodological Developments, and Future Prospects , 2008, American Educational Research Journal.

[4]  Jane Chu Prey Who's missing from the room , 2010, ITiCSE '10.

[5]  J. Eccles Gender Roles and Women's Achievement-Related Decisions , 1987 .

[6]  G. Hackett,et al.  Self-efficacy in Changing Societies: Self-efficacy in career choice and development , 1995 .

[7]  Ronan G. Reilly,et al.  The Influence of Motivation and Comfort-Level on Learning to Program , 2005, PPIG.

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

[9]  Nancy E. Betz,et al.  Self-Efficacy and Career Choice and Development , 1995 .

[10]  Oksana Malanchuk,et al.  Career Development From Adolescence Through Emerging Adulthood , 2008, Journal of adolescent research.

[11]  S. M. Arnsten Intrinsic motivation. , 1990, The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

[12]  J. Eccles,et al.  Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement Motivation. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[13]  Susan M. Haller,et al.  Deterrents to women taking computer science courses , 2004, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.

[14]  Erman Yükseltürk,et al.  Gender Differences in Self-Regulated Online Learning Environment , 2009, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[15]  John Radford,et al.  Gender and Choice in Education and Occupation. , 1998 .

[16]  A. Bandura,et al.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1999, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[17]  J. Wajcman Reflections on Gender and Technology Studies: , 2000 .

[18]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications , 1995 .

[19]  Frank M. Pajares,et al.  Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings , 1996 .

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

[21]  Rebecca Scheckler,et al.  Women in Computer-Related Majors: A Critical Synthesis of Research and Theory From 1994 to 2005 , 2007 .

[22]  William Aspray,et al.  A Critical Review of the Research on Women's Participation in Postsecondary Computing Education , 2008 .

[23]  Wendy M. Williams,et al.  Why aren't more women in science?: Top researchers debate the evidence. , 2007 .

[24]  M. Maehr Advances in Motivation and Achievement , 1991 .

[25]  P. Pintrich A Manual for the Use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). , 1991 .

[26]  Shih-Hsien Yang,et al.  Using Blogs to Enhance Critical Reflection and Community of Practice , 2009, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[27]  Jacquelynne S Eccles,et al.  I like to do it, I'm able, and I know I am: longitudinal couplings between domain-specific achievement, self-concept, and interest. , 2007, Child development.

[28]  Pauline Anderson CHOICE: CAN WE CHOOSE IT? , 2002 .

[29]  Anthony R. Artino,et al.  Review of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. , 2005 .

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

[31]  Zhonghua Zhang,et al.  Using multidimensional Rasch analysis to validate the Chinese version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ-CV) , 2010 .

[32]  K. E. Barron,et al.  Measuring Situational Interest in Academic Domains , 2010 .

[33]  Catherine Lang Tertiary computing course selection: The impact of mathematics anxiety on female decision making , 2002 .

[34]  A. Bandura Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[35]  Catherine Lang Why IT rarely enters students? schematic repertoire of future careers: A gendered analysis of student course and career choices related to IT in the 21st Century , 2010 .

[36]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Where Are All the Women? Gender Differences in Participation in Physical Science and Engineering. , 2007 .

[37]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Reliability and Predictive Validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Mslq) , 1993 .

[38]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Why don't they want a male-dominated job? An investigation of young women who changed their occupational aspirations , 2006 .

[39]  A. Bandura,et al.  Self-Efficacy in Changing Societies , 1996, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[40]  P. Pintrich,et al.  An Achievement Goal Theory Perspective on Issues in Motivation Terminology, Theory, and Research. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[41]  P. Alexander,et al.  A Motivated Exploration of Motivation Terminology. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[42]  Joachim Stiensmeier-Pelster,et al.  Gender Differences in Computer Work: Evidence for the Model of Achievement-Related Choices , 2002 .

[43]  H. Watt,et al.  The role of motivation in gendered educational and occupational trajectories related to maths , 2006 .

[44]  Brad Richards Representation of women in CS: how do we measure a program's success? , 2009, SIGCSE '09.

[45]  Mari W. Buche,et al.  A Longitudinal Investigation of the Effects of Computer Anxiety on Performance in a Computing-Intensive Environment , 2007, J. Inf. Syst. Educ..