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The effect of gender, prior experience and learning setting on computer competency

University of British Columbia

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effect of gender, prior computing experience and dominant learning setting on university students' self-reported competency scores in languages, operating systems and applications. Gender differences have been found in computing in terms of attitude (Campbell, 1990; Chen, 1986; Loyd & Gressard, 1986), competency (Kay, 1989b), and participation (Sanders & Stone, 1986). The gender gap within computing begins early (Jones, 1987) with the aggressive and monopolizing behaviour of males in preschool years (Schubert, 1986), and has far reaching consequences. Females face different expectations from parents (Nelson & Watson, 1991), are socialized against computers at home (Shashaani, 1994a), view programming as a male-oriented activity (Hawkins, 1985), and relate to computers differently than males (Turkle, 1984). The recent decline in women pursuing computing related fields in colleges and universities has been well-documented (Shashaani, 1994a, Taylor & Mounfield, 1994). The problem of disparity has been postulated to be not from the lack of ability, but from the lack of participation (McCormick & Ross, 1990, Taylor & Mounfield, 1994). The definition of participation however, is multi-faceted in the Uterature. For example, definitions range from self-initiated computing (Chen, 1986; Krendle & Lieberman, 1988), to use of computers after school (Becker & Sterling, 1987), to attendance at informal camps and courses (Hess & Miura, 1985), to ownership of computer (Taylor & Mounfield, 1994). A body of literature exists which recognizes participation as prior computing experiences (Mclnerney, Mclnerney & Sinclair, 1994) and links access to a computer at home to achievement (Nolan, MacKinnon & Soler, 1992; Sclirnindinger, 1993) and attitude (Levin & Gordon, 1989). Other researchers have confirmed the beneficial effects of computer experience toward the diminution of computer anxiety (Chen, 1986; Liu, Reed & Phillips, 1992). Three research questions addressed issues of gender, age of first computer experience and learning setting. Data were gathered using a questionnaire based upon the revised Gates (1981) Software Abstraction Model for the conceptual framework. Face and content validity of the instrument were established through an expert panel and pilot studies. Employing ex post facto survey method, the questionnaire was adrninistered to 765 students in first year computer science courses at a large western university. Using factor analysis, the three underlying software constructs were re-operationalized as Application, High-Level Language and Low-Level Language competencies. The inter-item cohesiveness and stability of the Software Competency Scale (SCS) were established by high coefficients for test-retest reliability (0.84), and internal consistency for all subscales (0.82, 0.73,0.80) and the instrument (0.89), which allowed conversion of raw scores into three subscales. Following the advice of the literature (Mclnerney, Mclnerney & Sinclair, 1994), prior computing experience was redefined as the combination of first age of computer experience and dominant learning setting. Multivariate comparisons were conducted with the three subscales using M A N O V A with follow-up ANOVAs, and where appropriate, Scheffe post-hoc range tests. For additional support, univariate analysis was also employed using a combination of t-tests and Chi-square analysis. The survey assessed competency across 27 types of software. With the exception of Application competency, scores for female university students were significantly lower than males in Higher-Level Language and Low-level Language competency subscales. Main effects of Gender [(F(l,601)=13.97, p<0.0001)], First Age of Computer Experience [(F(l,601)= 17.27, p<0.0001)] and Learning Setting [(F(2,601)=7.06, p<0.0001)] were significant, but interactions were not. Findings indicated that being a male, having early experience with computers, or computing predominantly at home, helped increase the likelihood of having higher competency scores. Despite statistics suggesting that early beginners and "home learners" tended to be males, and the significantly higher competency scores for those university students who either had earlier computing experiences, or primarily learned at home; the non-significant interactions meant that these differences based upon the age of first computer experience or the learning setting, were the same for males and females.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-02-10

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4421

Curriculum Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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