An overview of the GaIT project, by Julianne Lynch, Deakin University

ANSN has joined the ARC-funded Gender and Information Technology (GaIT) Research Project. The GaIT project is investigating why girls continue to be under-represented in university courses in Information Technology (IT). The researchers for this project are based at Deakin University, the University of Western Sydney and Charles Sturt University1. ANSN, together with the New South Wales Department of Education, the South Australian Department for Education and Children's Services, and the New South Wales Premier's Office, are the Industry Partners that support this project.

The low level of participation of girls and women in IT education, training and careers is an enduring problem. Despite the considerable improvements that have been made over the past three decades in terms of gender equity in other areas of education, enrolments in IT subjects and courses continue to be low, both at school and at university, with women making up less than 30 per cent of IT university enrolments. This is seen as an equity issue and also as a problem for the IT industry, which anticipates that current shortages in specialist skill areas will worsen if more school students cannot be recruited into university courses.

The GaIT research (which started in 2005) has focused on determining why high school girls and boys choose to pursue (or, alternatively, choose to discontinue) studies in IT subjects.

Key research questions include:

• What are girls' and boys' beliefs about IT courses, and what are the sources of these beliefs?
• How do girls and boys choose or reject IT career related courses at the post-secondary level?
• How do high school curriculum structures, school contexts and teaching practices affect boys' and girls' interests in pursuing studies in IT-related areas?

During 2006, extensive data was collected in schools in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, via:

• a student survey;
• interviews with teachers; and
• focus group discussions with Year 11 students.

The final year of the project will focus on revisiting participating students in Year 12, reporting findings from the research, and developing strategies that might lead to increased numbers of girls to qualify for, choose, and enter IT courses at the higher education level.

Preliminary analysis of the data collected to date suggests a number of factors influencing the decisions that both girls and boys make about the study of IT. For instance, it seems that students are sometimes exposed to conflicting and confused messages about the nature of IT subjects and courses, and that there is very little understanding of the nature of IT-related careers. There are also common misunderstandings about the employment prospects for IT graduates, with many students and their parents believing that there is a glut of graduates in this area and thus few long-term employment options.

In addition to this, preliminary findings indicate that both students and teachers see IT subjects as more suited to boys' interests than to girls'. Many girls have commented on the fact that, although boys and girls could be equally skilled in the IT area, boys would be more interested in the field because girls prefer subjects where they are able to be social and to work on real life projects. This reflects the widespread perception that working with computers, or working in the IT industry more generally, is a solitary occupation, providing little in the way of social interaction, team work opportunities, or creative projects.

These comments raise some interesting points about the possible strategies that schools could employ to increase girls' participation. For example, both girls and boys commented positively on the enjoyability of IT classes that allowed students to be active and interactive. Specifically, students have said that they enjoyed classes in IT where they were:

• able to work on group projects;
• given the opportunity to undertake ‘real' projects and make real products (such as web pages or movies) rather than working simply on mastering programs;
• provided with regular and patient support by the teaching team; and,
• exposed to new ideas and skills (rather than covering territory they might have visited already in previous years).

While we are still in the preliminary phases of data analysis, these early findings raise important possibilities for all of us, working in the broad field of information technology. This long-standing problem requires creative approaches from all of us, and it is the voices of students in schools throughout Australia that are helping us develop the creative responses designed to put IT back on kids' agenda.

If you would like more information about the project, please contact the project's Victorian team, by emailing karen.tregenza@deakin.edu.au.

University researchers involved in this project include Margaret Vickers (UWS) (project leader), Cristyn Davies (UWS), Toni Downes (CSU), Susanne Gannon (UWS), My Trinh Ha (UWS), Catherine Harris (Deakin), Julianne Lynch (Deakin), Carol Reid (UWS), Kerry Robinson (UWS), Leonie Rowan (Deakin), Clare Sidoti (UWS), Vianne Tourle (CSU), and Josina van den Akker (UWS).