Gender and Performance in Computer Science Curriculum Courses

Abstract

Despite numerous initiatives and research efforts dedicated to increasing female representation in computer science, the overall percentage of women in this field continues to remain low. Over time, research has shown the existence of negative stereotypes and "myths" regarding the cognitive abilities and academic skills of women in computer science, which discourage them from pursuing careers in the field. The aim of the research is to examine these stereotypes by exploring gender differences in student performance across undergraduate courses within a Computer Science (CS) curriculum at the University of Tartu. The final grades of six compulsory courses of the CS curriculum were analysed, two courses of which are mathematical, "Calculus" and "Discrete Mathematics"; two involve programming, "Object-Oriented Programming" and "Algorithms and Data Structures"; and two courses teach basic knowledge of the CS field, "Databases" and "Operating Systems". To get a better overview, the period of five years (2018-2023) was selected, and three different types of analyses were performed: general (covering all the courses), module-based and course-based analysis. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare grades. The results showed that the academic performance of women and men in CS is very similar. Only very few statistically significant differences were found between the genders. Many of the statistically significant differences favoured women (in courses like Calculus, Object-Oriented Programming, and Databases), except in one course: Operating Systems. Based on the results, it can be argued that women perform equally well or, in some instances, even better than men in CS studies. The analysis confirms that supporting women's participation in computer science is warranted, as there are no significant gender differences in cognitive abilities and academic skills in CS.