The number of girls in England taking a GCSE in computing has more than halved since 2015. Then, 43% of candidates for GCSE Computer Science were girls. By 2023, it had dropped to just 21%. Authors of a recent report call on the government to take action to address the problem. They warn that if males continue to dominate the digital space, the UK will not make the grade as a technology ‘superpower’.
The Subject Choice Attainment and Representation in Computing project (SCARI) report was a three-year study funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Principal investigator Dr Peter Kemp is Senior Lecturer in Computing Education at King’s College London. He said: ‘It is imperative that we see action to encourage more girls to take computing at school so they can develop the digital skills they will need to be able to participate in and shape our world.’
In 2014, the curriculum changed in England moving away from Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to focus on Computer Science and coding skills. This reinforced the notion that the stereotypical computer scientist is brainy and predominantly male. Ten years on, it is time to revisit the digital education offered in England. We need to find out why girls are underrepresented and come up with some solutions.
Key findings
The authors surveyed almost 5,000 students, interviewed 45 stakeholders including teachers and school leaders and analysed 960 school documents. 74 percent of girls who did not opt for computing at GCSE level,said they did not enjoy it. This compared to 53 percent of boys. Also, 56 percent of these same girls felt it did not align with their career plans. At Key Stage 3 , girls were more interested in topics such as digital media, project work and presentation work. These areas were closer to the previous ICT curriculum.
Many teachers and senior school leaders were dissatisfied with the new GCSE Computer Science specification. They also felt they did not have the necessary knowledge to teach it. The teachers called for better access to continuous professional development. They also wanted guidance on equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as subject-specific training. To widen the appeal of computing, the authors called for urgent curriculum reform and improved support for computing teachers. They were also keen to move away from the current narrative where computing is equated with male tech entrepreneurs.