Giving Compass' Take:

• Jaime Perez interviews students about their interest levels in computer science, finding that lack of exposure, level of support, and social factors are the three main reasons for little interest in this field. 

• Can schools efficiently address these factors? What would mandatory computer science classes mean for the future of tech? 

• Read about the importance of developing tech skills for the future workforce. 

So many students go through their entire high school career without being exposed to computer science—a rapidly growing field of study that is an important key to opening doors to jobs at tech giants like Google, Apple and Facebook.

And ever since I started interning with the Code Next team at Google this past summer, I became even more curious to understand: Why aren’t students into computer science?

Statistics show that “computer science” programs produce fewer bachelor’s degree graduates in the U.S. when compared with other STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) majors, as can be seen in the image below. For several years now, researchers have been conducting studies to find the relationship between students and their relatively low interest in computer science.

Through my own research, I have isolated three reasons as to why students are not interested in computer science (CS).

  • Lack of Exposure: A 2018 study, which looked at the factors that influence students to pursue CS degrees in higher education found that, “School education appeared to have limited influence on students’ decision to study CS, though exposure to problem solving, programming, online self-learning and internships appeared to be important positive influences.”
  • Support is Key: Support from family, friends, teachers and mentors is crucial to a student’s success in CS,  according to several students interviewed in that same study referenced above.
  • Social Factors: Some research shows that many students think of computer science as an activity where one sits in front of a computer screen all day in the darkness, typing away—without any engagement.

Read the full article about computer science by Jaime Perez at EdSurge.