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Gender Balance in Computing (GBIC)

There is a consistent and enduring lack of gender balance in the uptake of computing. In England, approximately 20% of pupils taking GCSE Computer Science are female, and this proportion drops to around 13% at A-level. The Gender Balance in Computing programme is funded by the Department for Education and is a collaboration between the Raspberry Pi Foundation, Behavioural Insights Team, Apps for Good and WISE Campaign.  

Desk-based research will also explore how Computer Science is presented at GCSE subject choice evenings and in options booklets.  

At the Raspberry Pi Foundation, we are conducting the largest-ever set of trials on interventions that aim to overcome barriers for girls engaging with computing in school, with a focus on teaching approaches, promoting a sense of belonging in computing, using computing for real-world problem solving and connecting non-formal learning experiences in computing with formal learning.

The findings from the storytelling trial have already been published and the others will be following throughout 2022.

Publications

Rizvi, S., Sentance, S., Childs, K., Leonard, H., Quinlan, O., & Waite, J. (2022, October). Use of storytelling to increase engagement and motivation in computing in lower primary schools. In Proceedings of the 17th Workshop in Primary and Secondary Computing Education (pp. 1-2). https://doi.org/10.1145/3556787.3556876

Childs, K. (2021). Factors that impact gender balance in computing. In Understanding computing education (Vol 1). Proceedings of the Raspberry Pi Foundation Research Seminar series. rpf.io/seminar-proceedings-vol-1-childs

Leonard, H.C., Quinlan, O., & Sentance, S. (2021). Female pupils’ attitudes to computing in early adolescence. Proceedings of UKICER 2021, 5. https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3481282.3481289

Other reading

Gender Balance in Computing — the big picture
Gender Balance in Computing: Project overview
A storytelling approach for engaging girls in the Computing classroom: Pilot study results
Gender balance in computing: Current research — Katharine Childs
What makes an impact on gender balance in computing education? Answers from experts
Female pupils’ attitudes to computing in early adolescence
Teaching Approach Intervention evaluation
Shifting the gender balance in computing: results from our research programme
Using relevant contexts to engage girls in the Computing classroom: Study results
Girls’ sense of belonging in the Computing classroom: Study results
A peer instruction approach for engaging girls in the Computing classroom: Study results
A pair programming approach for engaging girls in the Computing classroom: Study results