Conceptualising the influence of cultural and gender factors on students' perceptions of IT studies and careers

Abstract

The nature of IT is changing providing no single career path for information systems professionals, but a range of different occupations, for which the required skills range from non-technical skills, to general and specific IT skills. However, this diversity is neither reflected in IT degree curriculum nor made clear to the IT industry and potential students. This paper explores the effect of gender and national culture on students' perceptions of IT careers. It aims at an improved understanding of IT as an area of employment and study, and of the reasons for the declining number of students - male and female - choosing to study IT. Three categories of students are suggested, according to the reasons why computing and IT skills were valued: for escapism for leisure and study; to secure employment and status; and for flexible work arrangements. In addition to these categories we suggest that the students' perceptions and aspirations of an IT career are influenced and shaped by their attitude towards group work, especially the extent to which collaboratory study practices are preferred, although these are moderated by problems of plagiarism in actual study situations. Sharing both personal and study related information seems to contribute to the students' perception of IT as consisting of information systems that are technical systems with social implications, rather than technical systems only. The challenges facing IT educators and those responsible for managing IT human resources, are how to extend the definition of IT without losing the technical content and how to improve the recruitment of students, so that the severe shortage of IT professionals with a balanced combination of specific and general IT skills and general skills may be addressed.