Diversity
What is diversity and why is it important?
Our mission is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to study computing. We are all unique and we can all bring different qualities to the computing community.
Currently, the computing field is underrepresented by girls, BAME groups and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. We want to change this.
Here are some materials to help you to increase diversity in computing in your school.
Resources
Poster
Role models from diverse backgrounds help to inspire young people into computer science careers. With this in mind we created a poster for your classrooms. You can download a copy from the CAS resources page.
Reading
Hello world produced a whole issue on Inclusion and Diversity. You can download a pdf copy of this issue for free. Articles related to diversity can be found on the following pages:
Page 20: Encouraging inclusiveness
Page 45: Supporting refugee children
Page 48: Unconscious bias
Page 50: Coding for the 1%
Page 52: Pride in STEM
Page 60: Black girls code
Page 69: Cambridge women in tech
Wikibooks
Courses
Great teachers are the key to ensuring that students from all backgrounds are inspired to study computing. To learn about the latest research into computing pedagogy you can join one of the courses below:
Primary teachers : ncce.io/primarypedagogy
Secondary teachers : ncce.io/secondarypedagogy
To enhance your knowledge of computer science you can also take part in any of the free online courses listed on the Teach Computing website.
Research
To read more about the issues surrounding diversity in computing, take a look at the research findings below:
- The Roehampton Annual Computing Education Report
- After the Reboot: Computing Education in UK Schools, The Royal Society, November 2017
- Working Towards a Better Gender Balance in CoderDojo Scotland Clubs, Dr. Claire Quigley, Glasgow Science Centre, May 2017
- Cracking the Gender Code, Girls Who Code, 2016
- Class Differences: Ethnicity and Disadvantage, The Sutton Trust - November 2016
- Diversity Gaps in Computer Science: Exploring the Underrepresentation of Girls, Blacks and Hispanics, Google-Gallup - October 2016
- Gender diversity still poses a major challenge in the IT and telecoms industry, with women making up less than 20 per cent of the IT workforce say BCS as part of their Women in IT: Inspiring the Next Generation Campaign.
- Women Who Choose Computer Science: What Really Matters?, Google – May 26, 2014
- Ofsted – A-Level Subject Take-up: Numbers and Proportions of Girls and Boys Studying A-Level Subjects in England – March 2015
CAS Videos
Gender and Computing
Pupil Premium
Creativity and Animation
Engaging Girls in Computing