The Proof Is In The Pudding – Using Perceived Stress To Measure Short-Term Impact in Initiatives to Enhance Gender Balance in Computing Education

Authors

Alina Berry, Technological University DublinFollow
Sarah Jane Delany, Technological University DublinFollow

Files

Publisher

Technological University Dublin

Description

The problem of gender imbalance in computing higher education has forced academics and professionals to implement a wide range of initiatives. Many initiatives use recruitment or retention numbers as their most obvious evidence of impact. This type of evidence of impact is, however, more resource heavy to obtain, as well as often requires a longitudinal approach. There are many shorter term initiatives that use other ways to measure their success.

First, this poster presents with a review of existing evaluation measures in interventions to recruit and retain women in computing education across the board. Three main groups of evaluation come out of this review: statistical data, feedback and instruments. Second, this work reveals what type of evaluation is typically present in what types of initiatives. Finally, it recommends Perceived Stress Scale instrument with data collected in a retrospective pre- and then post survey as a lightweight evaluation method for short-term impact.

This research aims to assist creators of initiatives in demonstrating quick wins of their efforts to enhance gender balance in STEM disciplines.

Publication Date

2023

Keywords

Gender, Women, Computer Science, Recruitment, Retention, Evaluation

Disciplines

Computer Sciences | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Gender and Sexuality | Other Education | Science and Mathematics Education

Supervisors

Prof Sarah Jane Delany, Dr Susan McKeever, Prof Brenda Murphy

Conference

First Annual Teaching and Research Showcase 2023

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/6Y44-WR88

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

Berry, A., & Delany, S. J. (2023). The First Annual Teaching and Research Showcase Poster TU Dublin – The Proof Is In The Pudding – Using Perceived Stress To Measure Short-Term Impact in Initiatives to Enhance Gender Balance in Computing Education. Technological University Dublin. DOI: 10.21427/6Y44-WR88