Why Aren’t More Girls in the UK Choosing to Study Computing and Technology?為何英國學計算機和技術(shù)的女孩越來越少？

林賽·霍普 商裴裴

Getting women into tech careers has never been more important， but teachers believe old-fashioned stereotypes about subjects such as design and technology and computer science put girls off choosing them at school.

In 2020， the number of girls choosing to study computer science GCSE1 was 16，919—just over 21.4% of total entrants—compared with 61，540 boys. Slightly fewer girls and boys picked the subject compared with the previous year.

Girls studying design and technology for GCSE fell from 29，741 in 2019 to 28，763 last year and sadly， the low numbers are reflected in job roles. The percentage of women employed in tech has barely moved from 15.7% in 2009 to approximately 17% today.

Sarah Walsh， a technology teacher at the Hathershaw College， Oldham， says getting girls into Stem2 classrooms is vital for the future of UK industry.

“In most schools， only about 10% of students taking product design would be girls， whereas food technology has always been around a 50-50 split. Textiles is 90% girls，” says Walsh.

“We no longer use the terms ‘woodwork， sewing and cooking’ in schools. But we know students still pick up those terms， perhaps from parents and grandparents who recall doing ‘woodwork’ at school. It’s a very old-fashioned idea and it can put girls off. It’s not just boys sat in a workshop with tools. Technology is so much more than that now and although work has been done in education， we need to challenge the stereotypes and the image of these subjects if we are to draw females in.”

Technology has been a huge feature of the pandemic， with the creation of Covid test kits and the test-and-trace system. Walsh believes this has highlighted a need for “creative and dynamic” people with “problem-solving attitudes” who can get the job done.

“Students have been able to see the role technology can play in the real world. We don’t know yet whether this will draw more girls in， there will be a lag before we see the effect. But the need is greater than ever.”

A recent study by the Learning and Work Institute said the UK was facing a looming3 digital skills crisis caused by the falling numbers of young people taking IT courses. It found a gender gap in digital skills， with young women accounting for just 17% of A-level4 entrants in IT subjects. There have also been concerns that fewer girls are choosing to study computing since the old information communication technology （ICT） GCSE qualification was phased out and replaced by computer science. In 2019， 17，158 girls studied computer science， compared with the 20，577 girls who studied ICT in 2018.

So how do schools draw girls in？ Extracurricular activities such as allowing industry specialists to visit schools are vital—but coronavirus has made this difficult. “We’ve got a Stem club running at the minute and 66% of attendees are girls，” explains Walsh. “I have previously worked with Manchester Museum， allowing students to do a Dragons’ Den project where they pitched and sold products.”

Elizabeth English teaches computer science at the Harris Academy St John’s Wood， in Westminster， north-west London. She says numbers have been steadily improving， but there is still work to do.

“Having female computer science teachers is a massive bonus，” English explains. “There is that old adage5—you can’t be what you can’t see. We are lucky at my school to have a lot of female teachers in all Stem subjects but that is probably unusual.”

She says they also focus on having good access to employers. “Google came into school and spent a day working with students. They got very excited about the subject and could see how what they are learning translates to real life.

“We know it is only about the choice and not the enjoyment. Once girls are studying computer science they often love it and perform well.”

English hopes a rise in female gamers and YouTubers could also translate to more girls taking her course. “It’s not a change that is going to happen overnight，” she says. “But a lot of kids， male and female， love social media and YouTube. There are a couple of big gamer girls online who have normalised girls gaming and loving computers. The image is changing. It has become a bit cooler to be geeky6 now. Hopefully in time this will translate to more numbers for us.”

Amelia Bryant is a trainee art， design and technology teacher， also at Harris Academy St John’s Wood. She studied fashion technology at university and worked for the likes of Nike， Barbour7 and Cath Kidston8 as a product developer before changing career paths during lockdown in March 2020 and retraining as a teacher.

“Lots of DT courses are taught by male colleagues but I noticed in my training there were more females， so there has been a shift，” she says. “It’s good to see females in the workshop.

“We have a lot of girls who study food and nutrition， but fewer girls choose DT and engineering. Two-thirds of students in those subjects are boys. It’s definitely something that can be improved.”

She says it’s important to get girls excited about technology while they are still young. “We have found that engaging girls between the ages of 11 and 13 can make a real difference as they are more likely to choose the subject for their GCSEs. Getting them into extracurricular clubs at this age is key.”

The school recently started a robotics club， which has a 50：50 split of boys and girls. Enrichment days， where all students do taster9 sessions， have also been successful in boosting the number of girls choosing to study technology.

“Old-fashioned preconceptions about these subjects do still exist， often driven by family， friends or a wider culture，” adds Bryant. “I hope if more women like me choose to teach technology， we can get more girls into our classrooms and change the face of technology in this country in the future.”

吸引女性從事技術(shù)工作的重要性前所未有。但在老師們看來，對設(shè)計與技術(shù)和計算機科學等科目過時的刻板看法讓在校女生對這些課程望而卻步。

2020年，在GCSE階段選修計算機科學的女生只有16919人，將將超過新生總數(shù)的21.4%——相比之下，選修的男生高達61540人。與2019年相比，選修這一學科的男女生人數(shù)都稍有下降。

在GCSE階段學習設(shè)計和技術(shù)的女生也從2019年的29741人下降到2020年的28763人。遺憾的是，學習人數(shù)減少對就業(yè)狀況也有影響?，F(xiàn)在，技術(shù)崗位的從業(yè)女性比例約為17%，相較2009年的15.7%，幾乎沒有太大變化。

薩拉·沃爾什在奧爾德姆的哈瑟肖學校教技術(shù)課。她說，讓女生走進理工學科的課堂對英國工業(yè)的未來至關(guān)重要。

“在大多數(shù)學校，學習產(chǎn)品設(shè)計的學生中女孩只占10%左右，學習食品技術(shù)的男女比例不相上下，學習紡織的90%都是女生。”沃爾什說。

“在學校，我們不再用‘木工、縫紉和烹飪’這樣的字眼了。但我們知道，學生們還是知道這些詞的，也許是聽父母和爺爺奶奶講起過他們當年在學校做‘木工活兒’的情景。‘做木工活兒’這類想法太老套，會讓女生失去興趣。拿著工具在車間干活兒的不止有男孩。技術(shù)如今有著更加豐富的內(nèi)涵，我們雖然也開展了一些教育工作，但要吸引女性加入，還需要打破這些學科在人們心目中的固有形象。”

新冠病毒檢測試劑和檢測追蹤系統(tǒng)的發(fā)明讓我們看到，技術(shù)在這次全球防疫中起到了至關(guān)重要的作用。沃爾什認為，這凸顯了我們急需這樣一批人才，他們“思維活躍，善于創(chuàng)造”，“樂于解決問題”，能夠勝任工作。

“學生們已經(jīng)能夠看到技術(shù)在現(xiàn)實世界中所發(fā)揮的作用。這會不會讓更多女生投身技術(shù)行業(yè)，目前還不清楚，要等日后才能見分曉。不過，現(xiàn)在對這類人才的需求超過了以往任何時候。”

學習與工作研究所最近的一項研究顯示，由于學習信息技術(shù)課程的年輕人越來越少，英國正面臨一場迫在眉睫的數(shù)字技術(shù)危機。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在數(shù)字技術(shù)領(lǐng)域，男女比例失衡，信息技術(shù)課程A-level新生中僅有17%是女生。還有一件事讓人擔憂，由于GCSE課程中原先的信息通信技術(shù)被逐步取消而代之以計算機科學，選修計算的女孩越來越少了。2019年，學習計算機科學的女生總計17158人，而在2018年，學習信息通信技術(shù)的女生有20577人。

學校要怎么做才能吸引女孩加入呢？課外活動頗為重要，比如允許行業(yè)專家到學校交流，可新冠疫情讓這樣的活動難以開展?！艾F(xiàn)在呢，我們辦了個理工科興趣小組，成員66%是女孩。”沃爾什解釋說，“我之前還和曼徹斯特博物館合作過，讓學生們做了個項目，名叫‘龍穴’，推銷售賣自己的產(chǎn)品。”

哈里斯學校圣約翰伍德分校位于倫敦西北部的威斯敏斯特，伊麗莎白·英格利希在這所學校教計算機科學。她說，女生數(shù)量在穩(wěn)步增加，但還有很多工作要做。

“有女老師教計算機科學好處可大了?！庇⒏窭＝忉屨f，“老話說得好——看到什么樣的人，你才能成為什么樣的人。很幸運，在我們學校，所有的理工學科都有很多女老師，不過這種情況可能很少見?！?/p>

她說，學校也很注重和用人單位保持良好的聯(lián)系?！肮雀枧扇说綄W校和學生們待了一整天。這場活動讓學生們非常興奮，他們能看到自己所學的東西怎么運用到現(xiàn)實生活中。

“我們知道，這就是鼓勵選擇，跟喜不喜歡無關(guān)。事實上，一旦女孩們開始學計算機科學，往往就會愛上它，表現(xiàn)也很出色。”

英格利希想看到的是，女性游戲玩家和優(yōu)兔（俗稱油管）用戶的增多也會帶動更多女孩選學計算機科學?！斑@種改變不可能一夜發(fā)生。”她說，“但很多孩子，無論男孩還是女孩，都喜歡社交媒體和優(yōu)兔。有那么一些女孩成為網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲大玩家，這就讓女孩玩游戲、喜歡計算機也沒什么好奇怪的了。成見在改變?，F(xiàn)在，成為電腦高手變得更酷了。希望這可以為我們帶來更多的女生。”

阿米莉亞·布賴恩特也在哈里斯學校圣約翰伍德分校工作，目前是實習老師，教授藝術(shù)、設(shè)計與技術(shù)課程。她大學學的是時尚技術(shù)，畢業(yè)后曾在耐克、巴伯爾和凱茜·琦絲敦等公司工作，負責產(chǎn)品開發(fā);2020年3月倫敦因疫情封城，她決定改變從業(yè)方向，接受了教師職業(yè)培訓。

“很多設(shè)計技術(shù)課程是男老師教的，但培訓期間，我發(fā)現(xiàn)女性更多些，所以，情況已經(jīng)發(fā)生變化了?！彼f，“在工作坊能看到女性設(shè)計師，感覺很不錯。

“我們有很多女生學習食品和營養(yǎng)，但選修設(shè)計技術(shù)和工程的女生相對較少，選這些課的三分之二都是男生。這種局面絕對是能改善的。”

她說，有一點很重要，那就是要讓女孩從小就對技術(shù)充滿熱情。“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，激發(fā)11到13歲女孩的興趣能產(chǎn)生實實在在的效果，她們更有可能在選擇GCSE課程的時候選擇技術(shù)學科。在這個年齡階段讓她們參加相關(guān)的課外興趣小組是關(guān)鍵。”

最近，學校創(chuàng)辦了機器人技術(shù)興趣小組，加入的男女生各占一半。在課外拓展日，所有學生都會參加體驗環(huán)節(jié)。課外拓展日成功激勵了更多女孩學習技術(shù)。

“對于這些學科，人們往往受到家庭、朋友或更廣泛社會文化的影響，仍然持有一些陳舊的成見。”布賴恩特補充道，“我希望越來越多像我這樣的女性選擇教技術(shù)課程，這能讓更多女孩走入我們的課堂，改變這個國家未來的技術(shù)面貌?！?/p>

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)撸?/p>

1 = General Certificate of Secondary Education （英國）中等教育普通證書。

2 = science（科學）+ technology（技術(shù)）+ engineering（工程）+ mathematics（數(shù)學），是這四門學科英文首字母的縮寫，作為理工科的統(tǒng)稱。

3 looming迫在眉睫的。? 4指General Certificate of Education Advanced Level英國高中課程，是英國學生的大學入學考試課程。

5 adage諺語;格言。

6 geeky科技領(lǐng)域的愛好者或高手。? 7英國老牌的服裝品牌。? 8英國摩登復古風格的生活產(chǎn)品品牌。

9 taster體驗。