An interim report issued by ACM (http://www.acm.org/) and the WGBH Educational Foundation (http://www.wgbh.org/) as part of a project to improve the image of computer science among high school students confirms a significant gender gap among college-bound students in their opinions of computing as a possible college major or career. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation, found that 74 percent of boys - regardless of race or ethnicity - reported that a college major in computer science was a "very good" or "good" choice for them, but only 10 percent of girls rated it as "very good" choice and 22 percent rated it as "good." The report, which covers the first phase of the New Image for Computing (NIC) initiative, seeks to answer why interest in studying computer science in U.S. colleges and pursuing computer-related careers is declining.
"We know that the number of computer science majors is not meeting projected workforce needs," said John White (ttp://www.acm.org/about/bios#Executive percent20Director), ACM CEO and co-principal investigator for the project. "Many factors contribute to the low interest in computer science, but the image of the field is a key element in current perceptions among this population."
The gender gap extended to computer science as a potential career choice as well as a field of study. From a selection of 15 possible careers, computer science came in fourth among the respondents with 46 percent rating it "very good" or "good." However, while 67 percent of all boys rated computer science highly as a career choice, only nine percent of girls rated it "very good" and 17 percent rated it "good."
In an unexpected finding, the research showed little racial/ethnic differentiation in young people's attitudes toward computer science. In fact, computer science was held in high regard by college-bound African American and Hispanic boys, but these two groups remain underrepresented in both academia and the computer science workforce. The reported concluded that the image issue might not apply in these cases. ACM and WGBH indicated they would seek separate support to explore this finding further.
The report, based on a nationwide online survey of 1,406 college-bound teens in late 2008, was developed in response to a UCLA study (http://www.heri.ucla.edu/) that found the number of undergraduates choosing a computer science major was down 70 percent from 2000 - 2007. In addition, a 2007 Computer Research Association (CRA) Taulbee Survey (http://www.cra.org/govaffairs/blog/archives) reported double-digit declines in enrollments for graduate degrees.
NIC is currently in the first stage of a planned multi-phase project aimed at understanding the attitudes held by high school students toward the study of computing in college and potential computing careers. The project will also create a set of market-tested messages that resonate with young people to reshape the way computer science is portrayed and perceived by that age group.
White cited a finding from a 2006 conference sponsored by the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (http://www.acm.org/education) that 80 percent of today's college freshman - the very students that grew up with computers - said they had no idea what computer science majors actually do. "The results of this initiative will provide us with the tools to turn around the misplaced notions and lack of information that surround the world of computing and reinforce the critical and exciting role computing plays driving innovation in a global economy," said White.
For more information on this report and survey results, visit the ACM Web site http://www.acm.org/membership/NIC.pdf
U of Minnesota study says confusion reigns over whole-grain claims in school lunches
While most nutrition experts agree that school lunches should include more whole-grain products, a new study from the University of Minnesota finds that food-service workers lack understanding and the resources to meet that goal.
The study, which involved school food-service directors from across Minnesota, appears in the current issue of the Journal of Child Nutrition and Management. Because they serve so many meals to children each day, school food-service directors have a major influence on students' food choices and in turn their overall health, the authors note.
Most experts recommend at least three servings of whole-grain foods a day, but American children fall far short of that goal, averaging about one serving per day.
The U of M researchers found that while food-service workers are aware of the health benefits of whole-grain foods, they aren't always sure whether a food product meets whole-grain criteria. The directors also cited higher costs and difficulty finding vendors who sold whole-grain products.
The latest study is part of an ongoing series in which researchers from the university are measuring awareness of whole grains and testing ways to incorporate them into children's diets, particularly in school nutrition programs.
"The goal is to remove confusion surrounding the definition of a whole-grain food and to provide simple standards to follow when ordering whole grain products for school meals," said Len Marquart, the project's lead researcher and an assistant professor in the university's food science and nutrition department. "This will require working together--enhanced communication among vendors, distributors and manufacturers along with key players in government, industry and school foodservice."
Diploma Isn't the Final Solution to the Dropout Crisis
Recent graduates from Philadelphia's public high schools had higher employment rates and higher annual earnings than their classmates who dropped out, but many of them still did not have incomes above the federal poverty line, according to a new study from the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. The report suggests that although it is essential to increase high school graduation rates, "without additional postsecondary education, the effect of a high school diploma on lives and livelihoods may be rather limited."
"Untapped Potential: Early Labor Market Outcomes of Dropouts and Graduates from Philadelphia's Public Schools," by Johns Hopkins' researchers Ruth Curran Neild and Christopher Boccanfuso, looks at employment and earnings in Pennsylvania's formal economy for students in Philadelphia's Classes of 2000-2005. The full report is available at http://www.every1graduates.org/UntappedPotential/index.html .
The study shows that only 35 percent of the dropouts from the classes of 2000 to 2005 had any earnings in Pennsylvania in 2006, compared to almost half of the graduates. "For those dropouts who were employed, work was typically episodic and annual incomes low: The average employed dropout worked just 25 weeks during the year, earning just more than $9,000," according to the study. Those with diplomas averaged approximately $12,000 in annual income during 2006. Both dropouts and graduates with no postsecondary education were most likely to be employed in restaurants, security and janitorial services, and institutions that provide care for the elderly, ill and disabled.
Despite the importance to the city of knowing how its recent graduates and dropouts fare in the labor market, it is difficult to access these data. This new research draws on a unique data set that merges student academic records from the School District of Philadelphia and quarterly data on employment and earnings kept by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The report was prepared for Project U-Turn, a citywide campaign to resolve Philadelphia's high school dropout crisis.
"Untapped Potential" reports on the same cohorts of students described in "Unfulfilled Promise," a 2006 report on high school graduation rates in Philadelphia issued by Johns Hopkins and Project U-Turn. This new study provides two views of labor market outcomes: a description of employment and earnings in 2006, the most current year for which data is available, and an examination of the work experiences of the class of 2000 over multiple years. The report also provides detailed data on employment and earnings by race/ethnicity and gender. Among dropouts, African American and White females were most likely to be employed in Pennsylvania's formal economy. The lowest rates were for Asian males and females, but these groups had the highest mean earnings.
As students move into early adulthood, the earnings differential by education increases. High school graduates experience greater earnings growth than dropouts, but the upward slope is much steeper for those with at least some postsecondary education. Further, six years after their anticipated high school graduation date (June 2000), employed dropouts were still weakly attached to the formal labor market, working during an average of 26 weeks.
"'Untapped Potential' illustrates that students in the School District of Philadelphia who did not progress to postsecondary education after high school were marginally more prepared than high school dropouts for Pennsylvania's 21st century labor market," said study author Boccanfuso. "That the gap in annual earnings between individuals with postsecondary education and those without expanded over the six years studied demonstrates that the effects of education on earnings were both significant and long lasting."
Because of this, the report urges schools and communities to think seriously about not only keeping students on the path to graduation but also helping them make a successful transition into postsecondary training and the work world.
Post-High School Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities up to 4 Years After High School
This report uses data from the third wave of data collection from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) to provide information on youth with disabilities who had been out of secondary school up to 4 years in several key domains, including: (1) postsecondary education enrollment and educational experiences; (2) employment status and characteristics of youth's current or most recent job; (3) productive engagement in school, work, or preparation for work; (4) household circumstance (e.g., residential independence; parenting; and aspects of their financial independence); and (5) social and community involvement. The NLTS2, initiated in 2001 and funded by NCSER, has a nationally representative sample of more than 11,000 students with disabilities.
Full report:
http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pdf/20093017.pdf
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