A cultural perspective on individual choices of STEM education and subsequent occupations

Michelle L. Kaarst-Brown, Indira R. Guzman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Entry/PoemConference contribution

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Attention to health and maintenance of a skilled IT workforce is an issue that will not disappear any time in the near future. There is also multi-disciplinary support for a new cultural approach to understanding student attraction to specific IT educational programs and the IT occupation. This paper proposes a new cultural framework to study influences on, and the specific nature of IT cultural assumptions and values of students that affect attraction to information technology (IT) related Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, and careers. We integrate two cultural theories specific to IT: Kaarst-Brown's (1995) theory of underlying assumptions that reflect one of five specific "IT Cultural Archetypes," and Guzman's (2006) theory of IT Occupational Culture and Commitment. This paper presents theoretical foundations, an investigative model with propositions, a discussion of methodological considerations, and implications for research.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSIGMIS CPR'10 - Proceedings of the 2010 ACM SIGMIS Computer Personnel Research Conference
Pages55-65
Number of pages11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Event48th Annual Computer Personnel Research Conference, ACM SIGMIS CPR 2010 - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Duration: May 20 2010May 22 2010

Publication series

NameSIGMIS CPR'10 - Proceedings of the 2010 ACM SIGMIS Computer Personnel Research Conference

Other

Other48th Annual Computer Personnel Research Conference, ACM SIGMIS CPR 2010
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityVancouver, BC
Period5/20/105/22/10

Keywords

  • is/it professionals
  • it careers
  • it culture
  • it occupational culture
  • it values
  • occupational commitment
  • stem education

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Software

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