Under the Feminist Post-Structuralist Lens: Women in Computing Education

Abstract

Despite various reform efforts, a persistent concern remains within education regarding the under-representation of women in non-traditional subject areas, such as science and engineering. As society is becoming increasingly technocratic, this article examines this issue in relation to Information Technology (IT), as a relatively new educational area. In doing so, I review some of the literature surrounding the gendering of this site and draw upon empirical findings from a study exploring the experiences of women in university computing courses. The aim of this article is to consider and critique the dominant paradigms that have been adopted, drawing upon constructions and understandings of subjectivity of educational theorists who offer alternative ways of approaching this issue. In this article I argue that to move forward we must disrupt and dismantle the gender binary that is so insidiously embedded in the discursive repertoire of the dominant paradigm of educational research and reform. A feminist post-structuralist approach, as employed by several educational theorists, offers opportunities for transcending such duality, while engaging more effectively with the lived experiences of individual women.