In a recent report entitled “The future for computer education” produced by Peter Kemp at King’s College, London, that since 2014 when the school’s curriculum changed in England and Wales from offering a Information and Communications Technology (ICT) course at GCSE, and replaced by a new Computer Science course which emphasised computer theory and programming, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of girls taking up Computer Science as a subject in secondary schools.
They discovered that in 2023 girls only made up 21% of all pupils taking Computer Science at GCSE level compared with 43% who took the previous ICT GCSE in 2014. What are the reasons for this dramatic decline in the representation of girls taking up computer science? Their quantitative and qualitative data suggest that some of the reasons are that girls in general prefer digital media, project and presentation work, which does not align with computer science studies. Also, computer science was perceived as ‘difficult’ and did not fit in with the career aspiration of girls.
Bearing in mind how important computer science is becoming in our everyday lives, and particularly with Artificial Intelligence on the ascendent, it is likely that a continuation of this trend at secondary school level would eventually exclude women from the computer science related work sector. The report goes on to identify the problem in more detail and what remedies could be applied to alter this situation. Their findings suggest that schools with a high number of girls taking Computer Science at GCSE succeed in this respect because they attend schools with an effective policy of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) for girls, and have supportive teachers who engage with their students.
Female role models in the tech world who might be influencer role models for girls to emulate and alter their opinions of computer science are few – the top five tech entrepreneurs are men! It seems that the whole sector is dominated by men with the stereotypical image of them being brainy and nerdy! Parental influence plays a significant role to encourage girls into a computer science career – digital making at home creates a positive attitude towards computer science which reduces the attitudinal barriers girls might have towards this subject.
The report makes six very detailed recommendations about how to rectify the situation, which could be summarised as follows. It would be necessary to reform the computer science curriculum in schools by reviewing how difficult it is, and to include a broader range of applications for the subject such as project work, digital media and data science. It is very important that we support the recruitment and retention of computer science teachers and/or increase the provision of enhanced continuous professional development (CPD) for staff wishing to diversify their subject offerings to include computing. Schools should also offer an inclusive holistic approach to computer science, relating it to all other subjects and acknowledge the diverse contributions of computing to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
We should try and change the stereotypical narrative about the use of computers in the wider world, and who is employed on this field, perhaps by inviting alumni and other outsiders into schools to share their experiences of working in computer science. In parallel with these recommendations, it is important for career advisers to emphasise the diversity of opportunities that are on offer with an education in computer science. But all this can only be achieved if there is equity of access to digital devices that can be used in informal settings throughout the education system, and which might include projects and digital media activities using computing programming.
These recommendations are all endeavouring to reduce the barriers to change that would encourage schoolgirls to take up computer science in greater numbers. They will take time to implement but without change we will only see men dominating this sector as they have done for many years.
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