2024

Virkki, Outi T.

The popularity of studying computing disciplines has varied considerably over the last decades. The low share of female students, however, has remained constant. The issue extends beyond educational institutions to society as a whole, as the growing Information Technology (IT) industry requires more IT professionals, and IT faculties fail to supply enough proficient graduates with diverse backgrounds. The aim of this study is to consider attraction to higher education IT studies from the perspective of IT majors. Students are regarded as experts by experience in the study. In developing pedagogical, administrative, and recruiting practices, their voices should be heard. The online survey utilised a novel dialectical three-phase question method (D3P) combining open and closed questions to elicit initial, informed, and prioritised opinions of the respondents. Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods provides diverse perspectives to the phenomenon under study. Students’ opinions on factors attracting into IT studies underlined high employment rates, interest in IT, good salary, and versatile career options. The study revealed significant differences between genders. Women emphasised good salary and interest in problem solving while men were more interested in IT and technology in general. The dialectical three-phase question method proved to be informative: It combined the benefits and limited the issues of both qualitative and quantitative approaches.