The study found differences between male and female computer science students with regards to the advantages of studying CS:

- male students felt like there were more cognitive gains from CS (learning skills and critical thinking) while female students leaned toward non-cognitive gains (working together, contributing to society), though the latter was not statistically significant

University of California, Berkeley

Analyzing the results of the questionnaires, the research study discovered differences between male and female computer science students, based on several different factors: 

- gains: what the student could benefit from learning computer science
- engagement: whether or not the student was willing to study computer science
- motivation: why the student wanted to learn computer science
- barriers: the obstacles that could lead to quitting their studies, such as values, teaching quality, and satisfaction
- all of these can lead to retention: whether or not the student would be willing to continue with computer science

Reasons for CS Students to Study Computer Science

Pappas, Ilias & Aalberg, Trond & Giannakos, Michail & Jaccheri, Letizia & Mikalef, Patrick & Sindre, Guttorm. (2016). Gender Differences in Computer Science Education: Lessons Learnt from an Empirical Study at NTNU. 

Gender Differences in Computer Science Education: Lessons Learnt from an Empirical Study at NTNU

Gender Differences in Computer Science Students- Gains

The study found differences in male and female students for studying computer science with regards to engagement:

- male and female students showed willingness to study computer science but statistically significantly, male students showed more enjoyment in studying CS compared to female students 
- the above result is suggested in the article to be the result of there being a majority of male professors who structure their curriculum to be more suitable for male CS students, which can potentially drive away female students who have less enjoyment in these courses

Gender Differences in Computer Science Students- Engagement

The study found differences in male and female students for studying computer science with regards to motivation:

- male students were interested in the coursework while female students were interested in the subject of computer science itself

Gender Differences in Computer Science Students- Motivation

The study found differences in male and female students for studying computer science with regards to barriers in their education:

- female students reported many more concerns with barriers in learning computer science, such as personal values and concern over the quality of teaching in CS, but the statistically significant result was based on satisfaction with their studies, which was lower than that of male students
- because of these differences in perceiving barriers in CS, the lack of satisfaction suggests that the work and course difficulty in computer science could drive more female students away compared to male students

Gender Differences in Computer Science Students- Barriers

The paper not only pointed out the differences in why male and female students studied computer science but also took note that female students had different ideas as to what they considered important regarding studying CS, such as cognitive gains and the affective side of engagement in the subject. Therefore, when studying gender differences in computer science, it is not just the results that are important but the preexisting different priorities and perspectives that both male and female students have. By keeping this in mind, it brings greater clarity as to why the results of gender gap research show such a contrast when comparing the two groups. 

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