Document Type

Theses, Ph.D

Disciplines

1.2 COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE, Computer Sciences

Abstract

Computer Science (CS) education at second-level in Ireland has undergone significant development, including the introduction of the Leaving Certificate Computer Science (LCCS). However, the existing literature examined demonstrated that access to and participation in CS education is uneven, resulting in many students having limited exposure CS at second-level before making educational choices. At the same time, students who elect to study LCCS require appropriate support as they engage with programming and other aspects of a relatively new formal curriculum. This thesis investigates the function of school-based CS outreach in helping students at these various phases of their second-level CS education pathway in Ireland. Examining both informal outreach for students not enrolled in formal CS and curriculum-aligned outreach for students studying LCCS.   The research was conducted through two complementary strands. The first investigated the design, implementation and evaluation of an inclusive and scalable informal CS outreach model. Developed iteratively and delivered through two-hour, in-school sessions, the model combined discussion of computing and careers, hands-on programming and computational thinking activities, reaching approximately 9,700 students across a diverse range of Irish second-level schools. Analysis of pre- and post-outreach survey data from 1,202 students identified existing misconceptions about CS and demonstrated that participation was associated with improved understanding of the discipline of CS, and a statistically significant increase in students’ reported willingness to consider further CS study or careers.   The second strand investigated whether students already enrolled in LCCS may benefit from curriculum-aligned CS outreach by increasing their Programming Self-Efficacy (PSE). Between 2020 and 2022, 94 in-school outreach sessions were delivered to 1,472 LCCS students nationally, with 734 cleaned survey responses analysed using a pre–post design. Participation was associated with a statistically significant improvement in PSE, with gains varying according to student, academic and school characteristics. Larger gains were evident among several cohorts, including students uncertain about future CS pathways, students with mid-range mathematics attainment, female students, and students outside traditional STEM subject combinations. Pairwise analysis further demonstrated that combinations of contextual and academic factors provided additional insight into variation in PSE gains. Repeat visits, however, did not produce an educationally meaningful advantage over initial exposure, suggesting that, where resources are constrained, extending high-quality outreach to a broader range of students may offer greater benefit than repeated provision to the same cohorts.   Taken together, the findings demonstrate that carefully designed, evidence-informed, in-school outreach can support students at multiple points in their CS education pathway. Informal outreach can broaden students’ understanding of CS and support informed consideration of further study, while curriculum-aligned outreach can strengthen programming self-efficacy among students already engaged in formal CS education. The thesis contributes validated, scalable models for informal and formal CS outreach and empirical evidence that outreach outcomes are shaped by both pedagogical design and student and school context. Rather than positioning outreach as a standalone mechanism for increasing participation in CS, the findings support its use as one component of a wider educational ecosystem, complementing formal provision and supporting students in making informed educational choices at key transition points.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/4382-vn43

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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