A Study of Factors Promoting Success in Computer Science Including Gender Differences

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine factors that promote success in an introductory college computer science course and to determine what, if any, differences appear between genders on those factors. The model included math background, attribution for success/failure, self-efficacy, encouragement, comfort level in the course, work style preference, previous programming experience, previous non-programming computer experience, and gender as possible predictive factors for success in the computer science course. Subjects included 105 students enrolled in an introductory computer science course. The study revealed three predictive factors in the following order of importance: comfort level (with a positive influence), math background (with a positive influence), and attribution to luck (with a negative influence). No significant gender differences were found in these three factors. The study also revealed that both a formal class in programming (which had a positive correlation) and game playing (which had a negative correlation) were predictive of success. The study revealed a significant gender difference in game playing with males reporting more experience with playing games on the computer than females reported.