The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2005: §3373    Home    Papers/Indices    prev (§3372)    Next (§3374)
Sat, Oct 8, 11:00 - 11:25, House B     Paper (refereed)
Recommended Citation: Cory, S N, M J Parzinger, and T E Reeves.  Are High School Students Avoiding the Information Technology Profession Because of the Masculine Stereotype?  In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2005, v 22 (Columbus OH): §3373. ISSN: 1542-7382. (A later version appears in Information Systems Education Journal 4(29). ISSN: 1545-679X.)
CDpic

Are High School Students Avoiding the Information Technology Profession Because of the Masculine Stereotype?

thumb
Refereed13 pages
Suzanne N. Cory    [a1] [a2]
School of Business and Administration
St. Mary's University    [u1] [u2]
San Antonio, Texas, USA    [c1] [c2]

Monica J. Parzinger    [a1] [a2]
School of Business and Administration
St. Mary's University    [u1] [u2]
San Antonio, Texas, USA    [c1] [c2]

Thomas E. Reeves    [a1] [a2]
School of Business and Administration
St. Mary's University    [u1] [u2]
San Antonio, Texas, USA    [c1] [c2]

While there are numerous factors influencing a choice in a major area of study, preconceptions or stereotypical views about members of occupations may impact a student’s decision to enter a particular field. The purpose of this study is to determine current perceptions of high school students regarding the personality traits of computer specialists. A Personality Factor (PF) Questionnaire is used to collect data. T-tests are then used to identify perceived personality traits of computer specialists. A data mining tool is also used to analyze data clusters. Comparisons are made between these two approaches. Results of the study suggest that high school students view the technology professional as emotionally stable, intelligent, tough-minded, secure and satisfied with themselves. They are also seen as males.

Keywords: stereotype, domain identification, personality, computer specialist, data mining, gender, women

Read this refereed paper in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format. (13 pages, 587 K bytes)
Preview this refereed paper in Plain Text (TXT) format. (31 K bytes)

CDpic
Comments and corrections to
webmaster@isedj.org