Crowding out the girls : issues of gender access in the use of computers

• Main Author: Maloney, Tina M.
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 1999
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/1211/; https://research.library.mun.ca/1211/1/Maloney_TinaM.pdf; https://research.library.mun.ca/1211/3/Maloney_TinaM.pdf

This ethnography investigated access to computers in one Grade 2 French immersion classroom based on gender. The action researcher employed student interviews and observation to describe computer access and attitudes of nineteen participants. Parent questionnaires investigated student access to home computers and parental involvement and attitudes towards computer education. Analysis of provincial, school district and school documents investigated the systemic response to the issue of gender equity in computer education. The results of the study indicate that gender is not recognized by parents and the majority of students as an issue in computer use in this classroom, and gender is not addressed at the school, school board or department administrative levels. However gender appears to affect computer access and use at home and at school in the behaviours and attitudes of students. In this classroom, interventions to ensure equal access to the computer are required. The small number of participants limits the generalizability of these findings. Further research in this area is required, and policy drafting, piloting and implementation at each administrative level is essential if the integration of computers is to benefit all students of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.