Moving Towards a Vision of Equitable Computer Science

Results of a Landscape Survey of PreK-12 CS
Teachers in the United States

Moving Towards a Vision of Equitable Computer Science

Results of a Landscape Survey of PreK-12 CS Teachers in the United States

In our first national study published in 2021, we examined who are PreK-12 CS teachers in the United States. In this 2022 follow-up study, we sought a more nuanced understanding of teachers’ perceptions of how to move towards a vision of equitable CS. This report draws on a national sample of PreK-12 CS teachers to examine their views of both their professional development needs and institutional changes required to transform CS classrooms to be more identity-inclusive.

Demographics

CS Teachers Are Less Diverse Than the Overall Student Population

Despite the growing racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. PreK-12 student body, the majority of CS teachers identified as white, women, and non-disabled, situated predominantly in high income and less racially diverse high schools.

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Teacher Demographics

School Demographics

Work in high income schools

0 %

Teach high school

0 %

Work in less racially diverse schools

20 %

Teacher support

CS Teachers Need More, Unique Support

Many CS teachers are the only CS teachers at their schools, so they don’t have typical support structures or colleagues with whom they can easily collaborate. CS teachers in low income and racially diverse schools have fewer physical resources, professional support, and CS teacher peer support to do their jobs effectively.

“I am the only person in my district that teaches computer science, so building a strong professional learning network would be beneficial. Having this group that you would feel comfortable asking questions and building knowledge with would be vital.”

High School CS Teacher from Nebraska

The Need for Identity-Inclusive Computing Support

Nearly all CS teachers report that they actively work to create inclusive learning environments, yet many teachers lack confidence in using identity-inclusive pedagogies and most do not teach identity-inclusive content such as impacts of computing, ethics, and accessibility. In fact, nearly one-third do not believe that inequities should be discussed in CS classrooms, and many feel ill equipped to facilitate these conversations.

96% actively work to create inclusive learning environments
71% seek out equity and inclusion-related professional development
35% lack confidence in using culturally-relevant pedagogy
31% do not believe issues of racism, sexism, ableism, and other inequities within CS should be discussed in CS classrooms
60% do not teach impact of computing
80% do not teach accessibility

KEY CHALLENGES

Teachers identified the following as primary challenges to teaching and promoting equity in CS:

Lack of academic priority, in contrast to core subjects
Lack of support, interest, or knowledge by administrators and counselors
Scheduling constraints
Too many preps or other responsibilities
Lack of student interest or enrollment
Lack of hardware, software, and curriculum resources

Recommendations:

Recruit, retain, and diversify the pool of CS teachers.
Prioritize CS as a core subject with universal participation throughout PreK-12 education.
Invest in ongoing training for CS teachers.
Provide curriculum, resources, and training that are aligned with identity-inclusive topics and approaches.
Connect CS teachers to collaborative communities.

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85% of CS teachers believe CS should be a graduation requirement

“[Computer science] needs to be seen as equal to math and reading. It’s a support for core classes and should be seen as fundamental. We need resources.”

K-8 CS Teacher from Arizona

Time to Take Action

Realizing our vision of equitable computer science requires collective action and investment from a broad community, including teachers, administrators, policymakers, and curricula and professional development providers. Accordingly, we have listed concrete actions and resources aligned to these recommendations. Select your area to learn more.

Teacher

Become a member of CSTA, the world’s largest computer science department.
Join one or more communities to learn from and alongside other CS teachers. For example, join your local CSTA Chapter and virtual communities and affinity groups.
Reflect on areas of growth aligned to CS Teacher Standards. Then, find and participate in professional development (PD) aligned to these priorities. For example, join identity-inclusive computing events, find quality PD programs, complete online PD courses, attend the CSTA Annual Conference, and join virtual summits or webinars.
Invite your administrators to learn more about CS and join PD.
Evaluate your CS curricula for cultural responsiveness, accessibility, and inclusion of identity-inclusive content (e.g., ethics, impacts of computing), and work to fill in gaps.

Administrator

Learn about effective and equitable K-12 CS instruction.
Allocate funding for professional development, curriculum, and resources to implement identity-inclusive topics and approaches.
Encourage CS teachers to participate in professional development and professional learning communities, and compensate for their time.
Provide stipends for hard-to-staff positions.
Examine trends in the access to and participation in CS at your school/district, and make plans to disrupt inequities (e.g., improving English learners’ access to CS).
Support teachers and counselors with effective and equitable recruitment into elective courses. Share targeted resources for counselors.

Policymaker

Create requirements to ensure universal participation in computer science beginning in elementary grades and continuing through high school (e.g., required course or integrated experience per grade band, high school graduation requirement).
Provide funding to support districts and schools to support CS implementation. For example, allocate funding to both initial and ongoing professional development that is aligned to the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers. See models for funding professional learning.
Invest in comprehensive pre-service CS teacher education programs. See examples and guidance for creating programs at schools of education.
Collect and publicly report disaggregated data on student participation in CS instruction at all school levels.
Adopt standards or endorse coursework that includes identity-inclusive topics (e.g., ethics, impacts of computing, accessibility).

Curriculum or PD Provider

Develop more ongoing PD programs, focused on a variety of topics and skills that teachers want to develop and aligned to the CSTA Standards for CS Teachers, including identity-inclusive content and approaches.
Reflect on how your existing PD programs align with tenets of identity-inclusive computing.
Ensure programs are accessible to teachers with disabilities.
Join CSTA’s PD Provider Summits for training, support, and community building.
Create professional development programs for administrators, counselors, paraeducators, and other school-based personnel to learn more about PreK-12 computer science instruction and how to support it.

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Interact with Data

This interactive dashboard shows the demographics of PreK-12 CS teachers who completed our national survey in 2022 and a summary of their responses to selected items. Click the tabs across the top to show responses related to different topics, including universal access to CS education, confidence in using identity-inclusive computing practices, teacher identity within the CS community, and the resources and support teachers requested. Use the dropdown menus at the top to filter by state and school characteristics (i.e., income level, racial diversity, and grade levels), and the data will automatically update.

GO TO INTERACTIVE CHART

About the Authors Dr. Sonia Koshy, Bryan Twarek, Dr. DaQuan Bashir, Shaina Glass, Rachel Goins, Lisa Cruz Novohatski, and Dr. Allison Scott collaborated on this study, representing three partnering organizations:

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2118453. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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