ERIC Number: EJ1471885
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0899 3408
EISSN: EISSN-1744-5175
Available Date: 0000-00-00
What Does the Phrase "Diverse Students" Mean? An Exploration of CS Teachers' Ideas of Race, Culture, and Community in Their Classrooms
Sukanya Kannan Moudgalya1; Michael Lachney2; Aman Yadav2; Madison Allen Kuyenga2
Computer Science Education, v35 n2 p292-320 2025
Background and Context: Recent research suggests that there is work to be done in overcoming color-evasive ideologies in Computer Science (CS) education. In particular, we have limited insight into how to support white teachers in using Culturally Responsive Computing (CRC) approaches. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by analyzing interviews with white high school CS teachers through the lens of hegemonic whiteness. Objective: We ask two questions 1) What are the gaps between these teachers' views on culture, community, and responsiveness, and how CRC envisions the interplay of these three elements? 2) How can we use teachers' understandings to reconceptualize presenting CRC to them in a manner that may best benefit their students? Method: We use semi-structured interviews of nine teachers until data saturation. We use in-vivo and values coding in the first round and code-weaving in the second round to come up with emergent themes. Findings: Our findings show that these teachers did one or more of the following: 1) had dynamic but content-agnostic views about culture in the classroom; 2) focused on community connections with academia, industry, and/or parents; 3) framed the challenges of implementing CRC through a deficit lens; and 4) valued students' individuality, but were essentialist about student culture. Implications: We have implications for practitioners, e.g. to have professional developments that allow teachers to name and challenge white supremacy in CS. We also have implications for researchers, e.g. to investigate ways in which white students and teachers can benefit from anti-racist CS education.
Descriptors: Teacher Attitudes, Student Diversity, Computer Science Education, High School Teachers, Whites, Race, Teacher Characteristics, Cultural Awareness, Course Content, School Business Relationship, College School Cooperation, Barriers, Teacher Student Relationship, Classroom Environment, Faculty Development, Culturally Relevant Education, Student Characteristics, Cultural Differences
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1502462
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education (TPTE), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA; 2Educational Psychology and Educational Technology (EPET), Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA