Building a shared understanding of female participation in IT through collaboration: a shared mental model approach

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dc.contributor.authorKiely, Gaye L.
dc.contributor.authorHeavin, Ciara
dc.contributor.authorLynch, Patricia
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-03T10:46:07Z
dc.date.available2019-04-03T10:46:07Z
dc.date.issued2019-01
dc.date.updated2019-03-25T12:20:01Z
dc.description.abstractInformation Technology has never been more pervasive and accessible, yet decreasing female participation in the field (and the variety of reported causes) presents a ‘wicked problem’ for IT educators and professionals. In this article, we suggest that female students’ decision-making is adversely impacted by an inaccurate, shared understanding of IT. Subsequently, the problem of low female participation in IT requires a practical, collaborative solution. Employing an abductive research approach, we undertook a qualitative, exploratory study of female-only schools in Ireland using the #MakeITWork programme. During this multi-phased programme, we conducted (i) focus groups to explore female students’ perception of IT undergraduate degree programmes and careers; (ii) knowledge exchange (KX) sessions to communicate IT degree and career opportunities; and (iii) a survey to assess the efficacy of the approach in changing perceptions. Data analysis revealed that a new accurate shared mental model (SMM) was needed to support female students’ education decisions. This facilitated theory development with respect to female students’ decision to pursue IT education and careers. Study findings indicate that while attitudes towards IT careers are largely outdated, these views can be changed through a collaborative intervention workshop approach. This can be achieved through greater stakeholder collaboration and better quality information available via novel formats.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid3en
dc.identifier.citationKiely, G. L., Heavin, C. and Lynch, P. (2019) 'Building a shared understanding of female participation in IT through collaboration: a shared mental model approach', Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems (JMWAIS), 2019(1), Article 3, pp. 29-50. doi: 1017705/3jmwa.000046en
dc.identifier.doi1017705/3jmwa.000046en
dc.identifier.endpage50en
dc.identifier.issued1en
dc.identifier.journaltitleJournal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems (JMWAIS)en
dc.identifier.startpage29en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/7696
dc.identifier.volume2019en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)en
dc.relation.urihttps://aisel.aisnet.org/jmwais/vol2019/iss1/3/
dc.rights© 2019, Gaye Kiely, Ciara Heavin, Patricia Lynch. All rights reserved. This material is brought to you by the AIS Affiliated and Chapter Journals at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Midwest Association for Information Systems ( JMWAIS) by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL).en
dc.subjectEducationen
dc.subjectInclusionen
dc.subjectGenderen
dc.subjectInformation Technologyen
dc.subjectITen
dc.subjectAwarenessen
dc.subjectCareersen
dc.subjectKnowledge exchangeen
dc.subjectKXen
dc.subject#MakeITWorken
dc.titleBuilding a shared understanding of female participation in IT through collaboration: a shared mental model approachen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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