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ERIC Number: ED301180
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1988-Jul
Pages: 74
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Inequities in the Computer Classroom: An Analysis of Two Computer Courses.
Alspach, Phyllis A.
This study analyzed the enrollment of two computer classes at a public high school in northern Indiana to see if there was any computer inequity. The two classes examined--an introduction to computers course and a computer programming course--were studied over a period of four years. The sample consisted of 388 students in four years of the introductory course and 127 students in four years of the programming course. The variables analyzed for each student were sex, year in school, race, grade in computer class, mathematics course taken either previously or simultaneously with computer class, grade in that mathematics course, and a composite raw score from the Metropolitan Achievement Test given in the 9th grade. The sample size was too small to permit an analysis on the basis of race. Analysis of the data showed the possibility of an increase or at least a stabilization of the enrollment in the two courses. Each year there were more females than males in the introductory course, but more males than females in the programming course. There was no statistically significant difference between the computer grades of males and females. The two classes were reaching mostly intermediate- and high-level mathematics students, but there were also some basic-level students enrolled in the two courses. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the computer grade and both the mathematics grade and the composite achievement score. Some inequities in enrollment were found in gender, year in school, and mathematics, but determination of whether these differences posed a problem were beyond the scope of this study. Of the 25 hypotheses tested by this study, eight were retained. An appendix contains the data examined in the study, and 14 references are provided. (EW)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Dissertations/Theses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Exit Project, Indiana University at South Bend.