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ERIC Number: EJ1471886
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
Feeling the Weight of the Water: A Longitudinal Study of How Capital and Identity Shape Young People's Computer Science Trajectories over Time, Age 10-21
Henriette Holmegaard1; Louise Archer2; Spela Godec2; Emma Watson2; Emily MacLeod2; Jennifer Dewitt2; Julie Moote2
Computer Science Education, v35 n2 p238-266 2025
Background and Context: There is a call for more young people to continue into higher education computer science (CS). Objective: To understand young people's choices into and away from CS, by addressing the inequalities their trajectories as shaped over time and in relation to their capital and identities. Method: Ninety-four longitudinal interviews were conducted with nine young people and their parents from age 10/11 to age 21/22, analysed through the lens of identity and capital. Findings: CS-related capital facilitated "smooth" transitions into CS-degrees, with family capital being salient in the choice-process, and out-of-school experiences for navigating CS-courses. Other young people faced disjunctures between their capital, identity and the field of CS education, feeling "the weight of the water", experiencing study challenges and being at risk of withdrawing. Finally, a group of young people were "navigating a different waterway", reflecting a greater fit with a different field. Implications: We call for actions to broadening what counts as CS.
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: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2IOE, University College London, London, UK