Background and Context: A continued gender disparity has driven a need for effective interventions for recruiting girls to computer science. Prior research has demonstrated that middle school girls hold beliefs and attitudes that keep them from learning computer science, which can be mitigated through classroom design. Objective: This study…

We developed the Draw-A-Computer-Scientist-Test (DACST) to better understand elementary school students' conceptions of computer scientists and the nature of their work. By understanding how young children perceive computer scientists, we can broaden their ideas about the activities and images of computer scientists. We administered the DACST to…

Prior studies indicated that children's images of science and engineering greatly influenced their attitude toward career choice. This study explored how elementary school students perceived computer professionals and computer job tasks. Sixty-four students attending computer camps in 2 cities participated in the study. The Draw-a-Scientist Test…