An Investigation of Gender Differences in Computer Science Using Physiological, Psychological and Behavioural Metrics
Keith E. Nolan, Aidan Mooney, Susan Bergin · 2019
Gender imbalance in tertiary Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) courses is a cause for concern globally. Current estimates of this imbalance are ~70:30 male to female. Within the CS education field numerous studies have investigated the cause of this imbalance (e.g. misconceptions of CS, stereotypes, etc.) and have attempted to identify factors that influence uptake, retention, and performance. Whilst these studies have had varying degrees of success, none appear to have investigated in-the-moment physiological differences between genders during module examinations. Such research could provide new insight on how male and female students process and respond in such a setting and provide new opportunities to better tailor module delivery and assessment.