Gender Diversity in Computing and Immersive Games for Computer Programming Education: A Review

This paper provides a review of the current state of the gender gap in computer science and highlights how immersive games can mitigate this issue. Game-based learning (GBL) applications have been shown to successfully incite motivation in students and increase learning efficiency in both formal and non-formal educational settings. With the rise of GBL, researchers have also used virtual reality to provide pupils with a more immersive learning experience. Both GBL and virtual reality techniques are also used for computer programming education. However, there is a paucity of applications that utilize these techniques to incite interest in computer science from a female perspective. This is a cause for concern as immersive games have been proven to be capable of inciting affective motivation and fostering positive attitudes towards specific subjects. Hence, this review summarises the benefits and limitations of GBL and virtual reality; how males and females respond to certain game elements; and suggestions to aid in the development of immersive games to increase female participation in the field of computer science.

@article{Wee2021,
  title     = {Gender Diversity in Computing and Immersive Games for Computer Programming Education: A Review},
  journal   = {International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications},
  volume    = {12},
  number    = {5},
  year      = {2021},
  publisher = {The Science and Information Organization},
  author    = {Chyanna Wee and Kian Meng Yap},
  doi       = {10.14569/IJACSA.2021.0120559},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2021.0120559}
}