Computing for the social good: engaging Latino/a students in K-12

Computing for the social good is a movement that aims to broaden participation in computing by offering opportunities to apply computer science to social causes in higher education (Buckley, Nordlinger, & Subramanian, 2008; Goldweber et al., 2011). We have extended this movement to K-12, and added perspectives from Latina/o critical race theory, an analytic tool to critically examine how power relations shape Latino's educational experiences (Yosso, 2006). Our focus is on Latinos, who are the fastest growing ethnic minority population in the United States (U.S. Census, 2010), but are vastly underrepresented in computer science (CS). They are 16% of AP test takers, but only 1% of the AP Computer Science test takers; those that took it scored far below their peers (College Board, 2011). Although Latinos make up 19% of all US college students ages 18--24 (Lopez & Fry, 2013), the Computer Research Association's 2013 Taulbee Survey found that Latinos earned just 6% of CS bachelors degrees, and less than 2% of students who enrolled or completed a PhD in CS were Latino/a. And in 2010, Latinos made up only 4.6% of computer and information scientists in the labor force (National Science Foundation, 2014). In this abstract, we describe CSteach, an after school program that aims to get Latino/a students on a pathway to computing courses and careers beginning in elementary school. In CSteach, near-peers (local high school students) teach computing skills and concepts to 5th graders using a social justice lens. CSteach addresses three key barriers in K-12 to recruiting and retaining Latinos in computing: 1) a lack of instrumental support to learn about and generate informed interest and confidence in CS; 2) few opportunities to take classes that will prepare them for high school and college-level CS; and 3) few programs that connect CS to the values of the students and their families. The CSteach program builds on research that suggests we can engage Latino/a students in CS by increasing the social relevance of computing. For example, Latino students are more likely than other groups to say that the message "Computing empowers you to do good" is very appealing (Association for Computing Machinery, 2009). Doing good is connected to family obligation, and family needs (often financial) serve as motivators for Latino/a students to pursue higher education and succeed on behalf of their families and communities (Cooper et al., 2005). When asked about their career goal and why they want to pursue it, most Latino/a 5th grade students describe a helping profession (e.g., doctor, police), and say they want to help their community (Denner, Cooper, Dunbar, & Lopez, 2005). Truly engaging Latino/a youth involves building connections to their identity and culture by addressing the needs of the community, not just the individual (Solórzano, Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005). This research formed the basis for the CSteach approach, which addresses some of the reasons why Latino students' interest in computing does not transfer into the attainment of degrees and participation in the CS workforce.