Emily Atkins

March 17, 2019

MEDT 7485: Leading Comp. Thinking
Short Paper 2- Students of Color

Access to Computer Science Education for Students of Color

In today’s schools, students of color, primarily black and Hispanic students, have less
access to computer science education as compared to their white counterparts. With only 47% of
black students likely to have computer science classes in their school (Google & Gallup, 2016),
they are not getting early exposure to computer sciences. Hispanics, while having a greater
likelihood of having computer science classes in their schools, lack the computers in their homes
and adult role models that create a confidence in learning computer science (Google & Gallup,
2016). Both black and Hispanic students’ odds of learning computer science increases when
they are offered computer science as an after school club, but this is not an option for all students
of color.

Causes of Disparities in Access to Computer Science Education for Students of Color

The lack of exposure, whether at school or home, is one of the main reasons for the
disparity of computer science education for students of color. This suggests that broadening
exposure for all minorities would increase interest (Google & Gallup, 2016). Others suggest
that the computer science programs lack of culturally responsive practices are what keep
minorities from joining or staying in the field on computer science (Charleston, Charleston, &
Jackson). They just don’t feel welcome in the computer science community. These two topics,
access and culturally responsive practices, dominate the research and tend to be the two main
reasons minorities don’t have access to computer science education.

Strategies for Making Access to CS Education More Equitable

First and foremost, teachers in all content areas, including computer science, need to
make sure that their classrooms are following culturally responsive practices that make all
students from all cultures and walks of life feel included and important (Banks et al., 2005).
However, there are many strategies that can be put in place to assist in making computer science
education more equitable for students of color. The key, as stated above, is increasing the
exposure to computer science that our minority students receive. Gretter, Yadav, Sands, and
Hambrusch (2019) suggests that simple steps can increase the access and likelihood of minorities
entering into a computer science program. First, they recommend creating an inclusive
classroom in which a variety of diverse students feel the environment is welcoming. They also
suggest increasing a sense of belonging for those minorities that might be interested in a
computer science program. Teachers do this by using a variety of techniques to connect with
students and get them excited about the program. Charleston, Charleston, and Jackson’s (2014)
study proposes that offering computer science programs that give minority students multifaceted
mentorship opportunities is successful in letting students gain role models that will assist them in
preparing students for computer science programs in school as well as help entering the job
force.

Personal Response
In my diverse 3rd grade classroom, I try very hard to have a culturally responsive
classroom. I try to use books that have all different types of people, from all walks of life, as
main characters. However, I never really considered moving this train of thought into the world
of technology. This has inspired me to make sure to make a point of included notable people of
color in the field of technology (and STEM) into all my lessons. For example, using a book
about Katherine Johnson when we are discussing biographies or nonfiction text. Our school also
has a very strong focus on STEM. We often have speakers come in and speak to the kids about
their STEM careers. I think we should make a conscious effort to bring in more minority
speakers to talk to the students. We have a very diverse population at our school and it would
really benefit the kids to see people that are just like them working in STEM fields.
 Resources

Banks, J., Cochran-Smith, M., Moll, L., Richart, A., Zeichner, K., LePage, P., Darling-
Hammond, L., Duffy, H., & McDonald, M. (2005). Teaching diverse learners. In L. Darling-
Hammond & J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should
learn and be able to do (pp. 232-274). San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from Link.

Charleston, L. J., Charleston, S. A., & Jackson, J. F. L. (2014). Using culturally responsive
practices to broaden participation in the educational pipeline: Addressing the unfinished business
of Brown in the field of computing sciences. Journal of Negro Education, 83(3), 400–419.
Retrieved from Link.

Google, & Gallup (2016). Diversity gaps in computer science: Exploring the underrepresentation
of girls, blacks and hispanics. Retrieved from Link

Gretter, S., Yadav, A., Sands, P., & Hambrusch, S. (2019). Equitable learning environments in
K-12 computing. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 19(1), 1. Retrieved from Link.