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ERIC Number: EJ1252248
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1946-6226
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Understanding the Motivations of Final-Year Computing Undergraduates for Considering Accessibility
Conn, Paula; Gotfrid, Taylor; Zhao, Qiwen; Celestine, Rachel; Mande, Vaishnavi; Shinohara, Kristen; Ludi, Stephanie; Huenerfauth, Matt
ACM Transactions on Computing Education, v20 n2 Article 15 Apr 2020
We investigate the degree to which undergraduate computing students in a United States university consider accessibility several years after instruction. Prior work has found that cultural and ethical norms become ingrained early in STEM professionals' careers; so, we focus on students approaching graduation and after an internship experience, who are just getting started in their career. In semi-structured interviews, a majority of these final-year computing students (14 of 16) indicated that they were not motivated to improve their skills in accessibility, attributing this to not being required to consider accessibility in subsequent work or classes, not seeing accessibility as an essential skill in their profession, and challenges due to a learn-it-on-your-own approach in computing. Participants suggested instructional methods and topics that they believed would have better prepared them for considering accessibility. A survey of 114 additional final-year students revealed similar themes, including that students did not personally view accessibility training as essential career preparation. Prior research has largely focused on evaluating short-term changes in students' knowledge after an educational intervention. Therefore, by focusing on students several years after an intervention, this work highlights lingering barriers for university programs in promoting accessibility among rising computing professionals.
Association for Computing Machinery. 2 Penn Plaza Suite 701, New York, NY 10121. Tel: 800-342-6626; Tel: 212-626-0500; Fax: 212-944-1318; e-mail: acmhelp@acm.org; Web site: http://toce.acm.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New York (Rochester)
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1540396
Author Affiliations: N/A