The video recording of Generations On-line, the first of four events (Dec. 16) dedicated to digital citizenship and computer science organised by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and Google, is already on-line. The aim is to provide answers to parents on how to speak about technology and orient their children towards computer science degrees and jobs by introducing new professions [see news: Orientation School].
Today, we share the project profile with the main results of the national research conducted on “Parents’ Research: Findings and Recommendations on Parents’ Knowledge and Awareness Needs about Computer Science in Italy.”
THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL CHOICES OF THEIR CHILDREN
SURVEY
Parents’ Research: Findings and Recommendations on Parents’ Knowledge and Awareness Needs about Computer Science in Italy
TOOL
Exploratory Survey
- State of the art of the gender divide in the ICT sector (secondary sources)
- Collection and analysis of a questionnaire submitted to parents
- 10 discussion groups with 200 parents (focus group)
PERIOD
April - July 2021
DATA PROCESSING
Ilaria Gaudiello, Researcher, Fondazione Mondo Digitale
ISSUE
The role of parents in the educational and professional choices of their children, especially daughters, with reference to the computer science sector. Are parents informed about the opportunities and development of new professional profiles in emerging technology? Are they capable of orienting their children, overcoming gender stereotypes?
ANSWERS
1700 parents answered the questionnaire. Only 13% of them works in STEM. The main professions of the participants are teacher (27%), architect (14%), logistics specialist (12%), public employee (11%).
MAIN RESULTS
There is a consensus amongst parents about the fact that engineering and computer science are the best professional choices for the future. However, the continuous evolution of these sectors makes it very hard to understand what the people who study and work in these fields actually do. The information available on-line or that provided by schools and institutions is insufficient.
Parents do not feel capable of explaining computer science to their children. Only 3.8% feels extremely informed, 14.1% very informed and 34.6% sufficiently informed, while 26.9% feel they know little about this and 20.5% declare they know nothing about it. Parents believe that studying engineering and computer science is hard and not very exciting or sociable. In fact, they believe that their children should only enter these fields if they have an “innate talent.” So, how do we discover this about our children?
Many parents worry about the long hours that their children devote to computers and especially videogames. And many are convinced that working in these sectors means they will have to leave their cities, regions and countries. They have doubts about the quality of life of those involved in these sectors. This means that 81.4% would like to meet with role models and experts capable of explaining whether these professions are stable and long-lasting, about the social and ethical implications and the true opportunities in these sectors. Familes don’t really speak much about computer science.
