Cultural socialization to computing in college

摘要

Today many people have their first sustained encounter with computing on college campuses. In part this experience consists of learning to use a machine. But in larger part this experience consists of encoutering an alien culture. A socialization model of that encounter and research based on that model are presented. Freshmen at two universities were surveyed and their responses about computer science courses were compared with their responses about other freshmen courses. Consistent with the model, students were more likely to report reality shock, confusion, control attempts, anger, and withdrawal in their computing courses than in other courses. This pattern was less typical of students in the teaching-oriented university than in the research-oriented one. In addition to the organizational difference, three factors were associated with fewer negative outcomes: being male, having taken a computing course in high school, and majoring in science or engineering in college. However, even male, experienced, engineering, and science students encountered computing as an alien culture.