Inequity in Computer Science Education
The problem: Females and students of color disproportionately lack access to computer science education.
Inequity in Computer Science Education from Bryan Twarek on Vimeo.
Teachers and community leaders discuss the current disparities in access to computer science education, as well as what can be done to improve equity.
The solution: Begin teaching computer science, to all students at all schools, in early grades.
Computer science is an increasingly important discipline, as computing becomes more essential to our everyday work and continues to infiltrate the job market. In the coming years, there will be far more computing jobs than there are U.S. computer science graduates to fill those jobs. And sadly, there is great inequity in who is learning computer science and entering this field. Of the students who took the AP Computer Science A exam in 2012, only 15% were female and only 8% were students of color. If we are to break this trend and give more equitable access to computer science education to all children, then we must start earlier. I believe this means that we must begin teaching computer science education to all students in elementary schools.
I understand there are a myriad of challenges to teach computer science in elementary schools: many competing instructional priorities, limited technology and resources, the need to develop or perhaps even hire new teachers, difficult decisions about curriculum, and the need to teach digital literacy and other computing skills, to name a few. But, we must not let these challenges prevent us from adapting our educational system to the changing needs of our 21st century society. Unfortunately, if we do let these challenges get in the way, only more select and privileged groups of students will continue to access computer science, and traditionally underrepresented groups will continue to be left behind.
Computer science in elementary schools needs to mirror its applications in the real world: Students need to learn to create, rather than simply consume information, and computer science should be integrated into other disciplines. We can use it to teach our students how to think critically, how to collaborate, and how to solve real problems. It should not be one more subject to teach; rather, it should be used as the manner or platform that we teach other subjects, knowledge, and skills. And when we do this, all students will benefit. First, we will build the foundational knowledge and skills of all students so that they will better understand the technologies that they rely upon. Second and perhaps more importantly, we will broaden access and interest in this profession that has for too long been dominated by a homogenous group.
Because of these beliefs, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is committed to exposing every student to computer science during his or her PK-12 educational career. The district is well poised to make this aggressive goal a reality, based on our digital district plan and partnerships with organizations that also seek to expand students’ facility with computer science. We are building upon the foundation of computer science courses currently offered in district schools and expanding these offerings to additional grade levels and to every student. During this school year, we will be building a PK-12 scope and sequence of topics and an implementation timeline to make this commitment a reality, and we look forward to working with partners as we venture into water uncharted by other urban districts.
Computer science is an increasingly important discipline, as computing becomes more essential to our everyday work and continues to infiltrate the job market. In the coming years, there will be far more computing jobs than there are U.S. computer science graduates to fill those jobs. And sadly, there is great inequity in who is learning computer science and entering this field. Of the students who took the AP Computer Science A exam in 2012, only 15% were female and only 8% were students of color. If we are to break this trend and give more equitable access to computer science education to all children, then we must start earlier. I believe this means that we must begin teaching computer science education to all students in elementary schools.
I understand there are a myriad of challenges to teach computer science in elementary schools: many competing instructional priorities, limited technology and resources, the need to develop or perhaps even hire new teachers, difficult decisions about curriculum, and the need to teach digital literacy and other computing skills, to name a few. But, we must not let these challenges prevent us from adapting our educational system to the changing needs of our 21st century society. Unfortunately, if we do let these challenges get in the way, only more select and privileged groups of students will continue to access computer science, and traditionally underrepresented groups will continue to be left behind.
Computer science in elementary schools needs to mirror its applications in the real world: Students need to learn to create, rather than simply consume information, and computer science should be integrated into other disciplines. We can use it to teach our students how to think critically, how to collaborate, and how to solve real problems. It should not be one more subject to teach; rather, it should be used as the manner or platform that we teach other subjects, knowledge, and skills. And when we do this, all students will benefit. First, we will build the foundational knowledge and skills of all students so that they will better understand the technologies that they rely upon. Second and perhaps more importantly, we will broaden access and interest in this profession that has for too long been dominated by a homogenous group.
Because of these beliefs, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is committed to exposing every student to computer science during his or her PK-12 educational career. The district is well poised to make this aggressive goal a reality, based on our digital district plan and partnerships with organizations that also seek to expand students’ facility with computer science. We are building upon the foundation of computer science courses currently offered in district schools and expanding these offerings to additional grade levels and to every student. During this school year, we will be building a PK-12 scope and sequence of topics and an implementation timeline to make this commitment a reality, and we look forward to working with partners as we venture into water uncharted by other urban districts.