This position paper explores unequal participation in computing education within Sweden, offering a comprehensive analysis across multiple educational levels and institutional contexts. Drawing on national data and case studies, the paper examines participation trends in high school study programmes, higher education fields, and at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's leading institutions. The discussion addresses ambiguities in the definitions of ''computing,'' ''ICT,'' and ''digital competency'' and how this impacts the development of computing education in Sweden and beyond. We identify key factors shaping participation, including gender disparities, family background, and programme-specific barriers, and situate these findings within the broader evolution of the field. While this work is in its early stages, it aims to provide valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers to address inequalities and foster inclusive computing education in a rapidly changing digital landscape.

Sweden and Bangladesh, despite their geographical and cultural differences, share a characteristic of having comparatively low levels of women's involvement in computing education and careers. In order to broaden participation in the field, it is fundamental to understand the social and cultural factors which contribute to this issue. By using Bourdieu's conceptualisation of social capital, this work in progress research paper investigates how social connections serve as a resource for support and opportunities for women in computing education. Through semi-structured interviews with 12 female students from Sweden and Bangladesh, this study identifies themes about friends, family, and outside influences. The thematic analysis reveals similarities and differences in family relationships, as well as patterns of support and discouragement, observed in the two groups. The findings underscore the significance of family support in Bangladesh, particularly about career prospects, whereas Swedish families demonstrate a favourable perception of education. Friendships have a substantial impact in both groups, affecting the degree of support and discouragement. In addition, the students reflect on external influences, such as teachers and role models, in shaping their decision of studying computing. Acknowledging sample size limitations, the study offers insights into how access to social capital influences women's educational choices in computing in Sweden and Bangladesh. Future work should build on these findings and further investigate the interplay between social and cultural factors on participation in computing education. A recommended follow-up study would involve survey research based on the findings presented here, in order to quantify and validate the trends identified in the interviews. In addition, assessing the themes in a broader population would enhance the external validity of the study. Ultimately, the goal of such research efforts is to broaden participation in computing, by developing an understanding of social and cultural factors that affect women participation in the field.

This full paper presents an innovative board game, “Game of Life: Educational Pathways” developed as an engaging pedagogical tool to explore the theories of social reproduction, opportunity structures, and educational attainment through the concept of capital. Drawing inspiration from the traditional “Game of Life,” this adaptation provides a participatory learning experience that delves into the complexities of educational pathways, privilege, socioeconomic factors like capital, and their cumulative impact on life outcomes. The game challenges players to navigate through a series of life stages and decision points related to education, where their choices and the inherent randomness of dice rolls simulate the unpredictable nature of life's opportunities. By simulating the journey through different educational and life outcomes based on various forms of capital - Talent, Wealth, Goodwill, Legacy - the game offers a hands-on approach to understanding the complexities of opportunity and achievement in computing and engineering education. This interactive tool not only aids in grasping complex educational theories but also highlights the importance of personal effort, policy, and practice in overcoming barriers for educational participation. Ideal for educational settings, “Game of Life: Educational Pathways” prepares future computing and engineering professionals to navigate and contribute to a more equitable field.

Computing education in Western countries has traditionally been characterised by low levels of participation and diversity among its student population. In order to broaden participation in the field, it is fundamental to understand why students engage with the subject, and what they aspire to get out of their education. One approach is to use the Bourdieusian concept of capital, referring to the legitimate, valuable and exchangeable resources that individuals use to generate social advantage within specific fields. This paper presents a survey developed to measure forms of capital which enable students to participate in computing-related fields, and succeed in it. The sample included 432 students from 6 large-scale universities in Sweden. Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the hypothesised survey structure was assessed in terms of model fit to the observed data, and adjusted to achieve a survey with high internal consistency among the items and factors (robust: (X2p) = 0.119; CFI/TLI = 0.97/0.95; RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.041). Using the proposed model, group differences were observed using the Mann-WhitneyU test. Using a significance threshold of 0.05, differences between computing ((n = 241)) and non-computing ((n = 191)) students were observed for 11 out of 14 survey items, whereas for male ((n = 189)) and female ((n = 46)) computing students, differences were observed for 6 items. These results suggest that there is a relationship between the proposed forms of capital and participation in computing education, and that this relationship is stronger for male computing students.

At ITiCSE 2021, Working Group 3 examined the evidence for teaching practices that broaden participation for women in computing, based on the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Engagement Practices framework. One of the report's recommendations was "Make connections from computing to your students' lives and interests (Make it Matter) but don't assume you know what those interests are; find out! " The goal of this 2023 working group is to find out what interests women students by bringing together data from our institutions on undergraduate module enrollment, seeing how they differ for women and men, and what drives those choices. We will code published module content based on ACM curriculum guidelines and combine these data to build a hierarchical statistical model of factors affecting student choice. This model should be able to tell us how interesting or valuable different topics are to women, and to what extent topic affects choice of module - as opposed to other factors such as the instructor, the timetable, or the mode of assessment. Equipped with this knowledge we can advise departments how to focus curriculum development on areas that are of value to women, and hence work towards making the discipline more inclusive.

Despite the rapid evolution of bioinformatics over the past decades, a lack of computing skills and a widening skill gap among biologists can be observed. It is therefore of increasing importance to understand why biologists are motivated in studying bioinformatics and computing, and what the challenges are that they face. To this end, a computing capital mixed methodology has been developed, inspired by the concept of science capital. A total of 13 master’s level bioinformatics students with a biology background participated in the computing capital survey, of which 10 agreed to a follow-up interview. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis suggest that, while biology students are driven by career opportunities, as well as positive beliefs and values when it comes to computing, they perceive barriers such as low levels of computing confidence, and a gap between their skills and future careers. Future research can build onto the developed methodology, and explore other aspects of capital and their role in computing education. The aim of such efforts is to broaden participation in computing education by developing an understanding of why people engage with computing, and what they aspire to do with it.