Not just for men: A case study of the teaching and learning of information technology in higher education

Previous research has indicated that women are avoiding the 'hard' end of computer studies on courses in higher education. In this paper we challenge some of the descriptions of computing and suggest that computing is best understood as a concrete science characterised by the acquisition of artistry. We report findings from a case study of men and women on IT courses in one higher education institution in the UK. Students followed common first-year modules involving the use of workbooks aimed at encouraging independent learning. Our methodology involved observations of the coaching styles of male and female tutors in computer laboratories. Thirty-four one-and-a-half-hour sessions were observed. Attendance was higher for the sessions led by female tutors, but male students had higher attendance rates overall. We found that the male tutors had more short interactions with female students and intervened more directly manipulating the keyboard or mouse, but that both male and female tutors spent longer with men in the class. However, women students we observed appeared confident, were more vocal and were sought out by their peers as advice givers. Women tutors adopted a more active coaching style, which encouraged collaboration between students and greater peer interaction. We conclude that we should use case studies to re-describe women's presence within computing and render it more visible. From our observations of women in computer laboratories it is clear that computing is not just for men.