What Makes a “Computer Science Person”? Minoritized Students' Sense of Identity in AP CSP Classrooms

The CS for All Movement is making great strides toward increasing access to quality computer science (CS) education, particularly for minoritized youth from communities historically underrepresented in computing fields. However, it can be both mentally and emotionally challenging to enter fields of expertise where people do not look like you, and where your culture and experiences are seen as foreign or “different.” If we want to see students engaging with computing in their varying academic/career pathways, they must feel a sense of belonging and “rightful presence” in computing classrooms [1]. In an effort to prioritize students' voices and ideas about what matters most for their sense of belonging in CS, this study administered end-of-year surveys to 860 students across Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles classrooms in a large west coast urban school district serving majority low-income students of color. This study describes students' levels of engagement with CS, whether or not they identify as “computer science people,” and the factors impacting their sense of belonging with the field. These findings will be important to consider when shaping both curricula and professional development opportunities geared at broadening participation in computing, by informing ways to support students' sense of belonging and engagement with computing.