Why Women Persist in Their Computer Science Majors
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2020 Retention of Women in Computer Science: Why Women Persist in Their Computer Science Majors Katarina Pantic Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Computer Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Pantic, Katarina, "Retention of Women in Computer Science: Why Women Persist in Their Computer Science Majors" (2020). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7794. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7794 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RETENTION OF WOMEN IN COMPUTER SCIENCE: WHY WOMEN PERSIST IN THEIR COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS by Katarina Pantic A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Approved: Jody Clarke-Midura, Ed.D. Sherry Marx, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member Mimi Recker, Ph.D. Vicki H. Allan, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member Deborah Fields, Ph.D. Richard S. Inouye, Ph.D. Committee Member Vice Provost for Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2020 ii Copyright © Katarina Pantic 2020 All Right Reserved iii ABSTRACT Retention of Women in Computer Science: Why Women Persist in Their Computer Science Majors by Katarina Pantic, Doctor of Philosophy Utah State University, 2020 Major Professor: Jody Clarke-Midura, Ed.D. Department: Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Retention of women through graduation in Computer Science (CS) majors is one of the biggest challenges for CS education. Most research in this area focuses on factors influencing attrition rather than why and how women remain committed. The goal of this research study is to understand retention from the perspective of women who persisted in their CS major. Using the theoretical lens of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice, I designed and conducted a study that involved focus groups, interviews, journey maps, and experience sampling methods. I found that retention of women in this study was influenced by four different types of interactions and eight different practices inside the CS major. I also found that learning was a matter of multimembership at the intersection of several different communities which supported both these women’s learning and retention. Finally, this dissertation provides a cross-case study narrative that highlights commonalities and differences of different pathways of iv ongoing participation investigated in this study. Such narrative is illustrated by five individual case studies of five women persisting in their CS major. (276 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Retention of Women in Computer Science: Why Women Persist in Their Computer Science Majors Katarina Pantic Retention of women through graduation in Computer Science (CS) majors is one of the biggest challenges for CS education. Most research in this area focuses on factors influencing attrition rather than why and how women remain committed. The goal of this research study is to understand retention from the perspective of women who persisted in their CS major. Using the theoretical lens of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice, I designed and conducted a study that involved focus groups, interviews, journey maps, and experience sampling methods. I found that retention of women in this study was influenced by four different types of interactions and eight different practices inside the CS major. I also found that learning was a matter of multimembership at the intersection of several different communities which supported both these women’s learning and retention. Finally, this dissertation provides a cross-case study narrative that highlights commonalities and differences of different pathways of ongoing participation investigated in this study. Such narrative is illustrated by five individual case studies of five women persisting in their CS major. vi DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my family: my mother, for always insisting on the importance of education, and my brother, Aleksandar, for being an infinite source of love and encouragement throughout the years of my schooling. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Jody Clarke-Midura, my advisor and dissertation chair, for all the patience, support and thoughtful feedback throughout this process. You have shaped me as a scholar, and you built my self-confidence. For that and your immense friendship, I am eternally grateful. I would also like to thank my committee members: Dr. Mimi Recker, Dr. Deborah Fields, Dr. Sherry Marx, and Dr. Vicki Allan for sharing their expertise, support, and time, and for guiding me through the development of my research proposal. I have learned so much from each and every one of you throughout the past six years! Apart from my committee, I would like to thank USU Center for Women and Gender who awarded me and Dr. Clarke-Midura a grant in April 2017, which funded my work on this dissertation and provided participant support. I owe my deepest gratitude to Dr. Sarah Brasiel, for getting me back on track when life got in the way, Dr. Andrew Walker for helping me recognize the extent of my accomplishments, and all the wonderful teachers who installed thirst for knowledge in me ever since I was 5. I also feel so much gratitude for having had Deidri Nielson, Annalee Hall, and Dr. Sheri Haderlie in my life for the past few years. Your support and friendship meant a lot. I am also thankful for my ITLS cohort at Utah State University. First and foremost, Joana Franco, for being an amazing writing partner. All those days writing in different coffee places in Logan kept me motivated and supported, and I will never forget that. Frederick Poole and Chongning Sun for allowing me to learn from them on daily viii basis. Megan Hamilton, Dr Min Yuan, Dr Joel Drake, Dr Ryan Cain, Dr Ji-Eun Lee, Stephanie Benson, Dr Jeffrey Thayne, Dr Zeljko Pantic, Yessica Castro, and Dr Gisela Martiz for all the mentoring, emotional support, milestone celebrations and friendships. All of you were my family at USU, and I could not have done it without you. I also want to thank all the CS women and girls who worked with me throughout the years. Whether you were a middle schooler who learned with me in a summer camp, a high school mentor who helped us encourage young programmers, or a mature programmer who shared her stories—I have learned so much from you. Your creativity, resilience in and love for programming were my biggest inspiration for this study. I feel honored to have met you as part of my journey towards the completion of this dissertation. Finally, I feel immense appreciation for my partner, Tedy Anderson, for supporting me throughout the most challenging moments of working on this study. Thank you! Katarina Pantic ix CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... v DEDICATION ............................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement ........................................................................................... 2 Significance of This Study ............................................................................... 5 Definition of Terms .......................................................................................... 6 Summary .......................................................................................................... 7 Dissertation Outline .......................................................................................... 7 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................... 9 Factors Influencing Computer Science Retention of Women in the U.S. ........ 9 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................... 28 Summary .......................................................................................................... 49 III. METHODS ....................................................................................................... 51 Research Design ............................................................................................... 51 Summary .......................................................................................................... 81 IV. RESULTS ......................................................................................................... 82 Demographic Information ...............................................................................