“I don’t need IT because I’m going to be a teacher” and other popular beliefs: High school students’ explanations for the under representation of girls in information technology subjects
File version
Author(s)
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Julie Kiggins, Lisa Kervin and Jessica Mantei
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
Wollongong
License
Abstract
This paper examines the implications for teacher educators of the dominant beliefs currently circulating within diverse Australian high schools about the (lack of) relationship between girls' interests, girls' careers, girls' futures and the broad field of information technology. It identifies students' attitudes towards the content, relevance and general appeal of IT subjects to highlight the challenges for both teachers and teacher educators who may be seeking to address the issues associated with girls' under representation in IT courses and also contribute to an ongoing project of gender based educational reform. Emphasis throughout the paper is on the persistence of discourses that continue to position girls and IT in opposition to each other and on the challenges of subverting these discourses through the introduction of new figurations (cf Rosi Braidotti, 1994) or transformative understandings of what it now means to be a female student, a female teacher, or a female IT user. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications of these themes for teachers and teacher educators: particularly those with an on-going commitment to the broad field of educational justice.
Journal Title
Conference Title
Quality in Teacher Education: Considering different perspectives and agendas
Book Title
Edition
Volume
Issue
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
DOI
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Multi-Disciplinary