Perceptions of Computer Science at a South African university
V.C. Galpin and I.D. Sanders
Abstract
First year students at the University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg, South Africa, were surveyed about their perceptions of
Computer Science before and towards the end of their first year courses.
The aim of this research was to investigate how the students'
attitudes changed during these courses and to assess the impact of the
innovative breadth-first curriculum that has been developed in the
School of Computer Science which emphasises the fundamentals of the
discipline and the mathematical nature of Computer Science. The results
show that most perceptions did not change much or that there were
changes in both directions. More students, and particularly female
students, were positive about their own understanding of the nature of
Computer Science after the course than before. However, when asking
specifically about jobs and course content, there was not a
substantially deeper understanding at the end of the course of what
content they would expect to encounter in a Computer Science course or
working as a Computer Scientist. Fewer students, particularly male
students, thought that Computer Science and mathematics were closely
related after the course than before and this was an unexpected result,
which may be the result of discrete mathematics topics being taught in
courses separate from those in which continuous mathematics topics are
taught. Students became less positive about working with computers after
the course, a result which supports prior research, but is an issue for
concern as computers will play some role in their future careers. The
students found the courses challenging and different from their
expectations with few students finding the courses unenjoyable.
Preprint (final version) - PDF
doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2006.02.008
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