Girl’s perception about Computer Science Courses and their career intention - Study with High School Students

Abstract

The number of women in computer science courses have decreased lately in Brazil. Numerous researches have been carried out trying to understand this phenomenon, and others seeking to instigate activities of active participation of women from an early age, in schools. The problem of inconsistent support and encouragement often poses a barrier for women to enter these careers. This article describes workshops conducted in database and software engineering subjects for high school students. The hypothesis is that workshops for high school girls presented in computer science conferences might encourage and motivate them to think in computation as a possible career. In addition, the participation of professors and graduate students along with a young public made them rethink the importance of different facets of computer science.