A new report by King’s College London, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, highlights how fewer girls in England are studying computing at secondary school since the curriculum became narrower in scope and the authors call on the incoming government to take action to address the problem. The researchers note that the number of girls in England taking a GCSE in computing has more than halved since 2015 which could lead to continued male-dominance of the digital space.
The report, entitled The future of computing education considerations for policy, curriculum and practice, makes six recommendations for improvement:
- Reform the computing curriculum
- Promote and enhance teacher training and professional development
- Support inclusive computing education in schools
- Reframe the computing narrative
- Showcase diverse digital opportunities
- Increase access to informal digital making
You can read a summary on the King’s College website, and download the full report.
dsga.org.uk 