Big decline in girls studying computing since 2014 reforms

There has been a sharp decline in the number of girls studying computing at GCSE level, and a reduction in take-up of the subject overall, according to researchers from Kings College London (KCL). The Subject Choice, Attainment and Representation in Computing (SCARI) project at KCL, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, looked at the trajectory of the subject since curriculum changes in 2014.

These changes saw a shift from a broad information and communications technology (ICT) focus to a curriculum emphasising computer science. The previous ICT GCSE was discontinued, and a new Computer Science GCSE introduced, aiming to elevate computer theory and programming skills as essential components of a rigorous subject.

However, while potentially making the subject more rigorous, the new curriculum seems to have unintentionally led to a decline in take up. In 2023, girls constituted only 21 per cent of the GCSE Computer Science cohort, while in 2015 they made up 43 per cent of the cohort for the ICT GCSE. In numerical terms, 40,000 female students took ICT GCSE in 2015, with a further 5,000 taking Computer Science. In 2023 (with ICT no longer available), just 18,600 females took Computer Science. Meanwhile, since 2010 overall computing hours taught in state schools have dropped by 60 per cent at key stage 4, and 28 per cent in key stage 3. However, uptake of the Computer Science GCSE, both overall and by female pupils, is now starting to grow – total entries grew by 12 per cent in 2023.

There has long been concern about low female representation in the computing industry. Last year, research from BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, found that on current trends it could take nearly 300 years for women to make up an equal share of the UK technology sector workforce. The findings from KCL are likely to exacerbate these concerns. ‘It is imperative that we see action to encourage more girls to take computing at school so they can develop the digital skills they will need to be able to participate in and shape our world,’ said Dr Peter Kemp, senior lecturer in computing education at KCL and principal investigator for the SCARI study.

The researchers are calling for the Computer Science GCSE to be reviewed to ensure it covers a ‘wider range of topics, appealing to a more diverse student population’. They also want Ofqual to urgently look at the relative difficulty of the qualification, among concerns that pupils don’t choose it because they perceive it as ‘too hard’. Better support for teachers and promotion of a wider range of role models from the technology sector are among their other recommendations.  

A spokesperson for the DfE said it had invested more than £100 million into the National Centre for Computing Education to, among other things, drive up participation in the subject at GCSE and A-level, particularly among girls.

Full details of the study: https://tinyurl.com/bdesryhk

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