Exposing girls to computer science: Does the all-girl model really work?

This case study is about the introduction of computer science to girls in an all-girl environment. Due to the lack of women in technology, many efforts are being made to expose girls to computer programming at an early age. Code camp organizers are using the all-girl model to help put participants more at ease and boost their computing confidence. High computer self-efficacy leads to studying computer science, while the stereotypical views of coding as a male subject and lack of ability in girls hinder women from pursuing CS degrees. For this study, a local Northern Virginia University offered two Java programming summer code camps in the summer of 2016, one course as an all-girl class and the other as a co-ed environment. A total of 19 girls participated and submitted post-workshop survey responses. In this paper, we explore the questionnaire differences in response between the girls within the two groups. The implications of introducing computer science to girls in a single-sex setting and its effect on girls' view of CS and computer self-efficacy is also discussed.