Title

Sense of Belonging in Computing: The Role of Introductory Courses for Women and Underrepresented Minority Students

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Linda J. Sax, University of California, Los Angeles
Jennifer M. Blaney, University of California, Los Angeles
Kathleen J. Lehman, University of California, Los Angeles
Sarah L. Rodriguez, Texas A&M University-CommerceFollow
Kari L. George, University of California, Los Angeles
Christina Zavala, University of California, Los Angeles

Publication Title

Social Sciences

Document Type

Article

Abstract/Description

This study examines an aspect of gender and racial/ethnic gaps in undergraduate computing by focusing on sense of belonging among women and underrepresented minority (URM) introductory computing students. We examine change in sense of belonging during the introductory course as well as the predictors of belonging, with attention to conditional effects by gender and URM status. Results show that sense of belonging outcomes are a product of both incoming student characteristics and college environments and experiences, highlighting the important role the computing faculty play in fostering belonging. These and other findings are discussed, focusing on sense of belonging among women, URM students, and URM women.

Department

Higher Education and Learning Technologies

First Page

1

Last Page

23

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7080122

Volume

7

Issue

8

ISSN

2076-0760

Date

7-25-2018

Comments

© 2018 by the Authors

"Sense of Belonging in Computing: The Role of Introductory Courses for Women and Underrepresented Minority Students" is published in Social Sciences 7 no. 8, (July 25, 2018) under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License.

Citation Information

Sax, L., Blaney, J., Lehman, K., Rodriguez, S., George, K., and Zavala, C. (2018) Sense of belonging in computing: The role of introductory courses for women and underrepresented minority students. Social Sciences, 7(8), 122-145. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci7080122