Factors Affecting High School Student Engagement in Introductory Computer Science Classes (Abstract Only)

Abstract

Little research exists on factors that affect high school computer science student engagement. The BASICS Study (Barriers and Supports to Implementing Computer Science) brings rigor to this issue by building on instruments developed to measure implementation and factors affecting implementation of math and science programs, and customizing them for use with Exploring Computer Science (ECS). One goal of the 2-½ year BASICS Study is to provide the computer science education community with tools to systematically and rigorously measure computer science program implementation components, like student engagement. Aligning efforts in computer science around data collection and description can support the collective effort to grow and sustain computing education.This poster reports on BASICS Study Year 1 findings about factors related to student engagement in ECS classes. The sample includes 232 students from eight public high schools in Chicago and Washington, DC. Student questionnaire data collected focused on: 1) Student engagement, 2) Teacher instruction, 3) Student attitudes, and 4) Other student characteristics, such as grade, gender, race/ethnicity, and previous computing experience. Analyses included multi-factor confirmatory factor analysis to examine the validity of the measures, and multiple linear regression analysis to estimate the effects of teacher instruction and student attitudes on engagement. Results indicate teacher instruction significantly positively affects student engagement in ECS classes. Some student attitude variables are also significantly related to student engagement, but there was no significant variation in engagement across gender or race/ethnicity categories.