Courting the Uncommitted: Recruiting Undecided Students in Introductory Computing Courses to Computing Majors
Kathleen J. Lehman, Sarayu Sundar · 2022
With a national focus on diversifying computing, computing departments seek avenues within their sphere of influence to increase the representation of women and Students ofColor in their majors. Leading scholars and organizations on broadening participation in computing have suggested recruiting non-majors who enroll in introductory courses, particularly students undecided or wavering about their major choice, as an important route to diversifying computing majors. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of undecided students enrolled in an introductory CS course that might encourage or dissuade them from pursuing a computing major. Drawing from career and science identity theories, this study used a national sample of student survey data to conduct descriptive analyses and a blocked logistic regression. These analyses explored their perceptions of the climate in the course and the factors that predicted their decision to choose a computing major at the end of the course. Across all analyses, differences were examined by race/ethnicity and gender. Findings suggest that computing identity, peer support, and instructor responsiveness shape undecided students’ decision to pursue a computing major.