Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children

Jingyao Cen; Tian Xu; Junnan Yu

doi:https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581035

Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children

Jingyao Cen, Tian Xu, Junnan Yu

School of Design

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceeding › Conference article published in proceeding or book › Academic research › peer-review

Abstract

Computational toys and apps, or coding kits, are the primary learning media for young children to engage in Computational Thinking concepts and skills. However, how coding kits are designed to welcome children of different genders remains unclear, a critical research gap given that computing is mostly a male-dominated field. Drawing on relevant literature, we develop a framework of gender-related design features in toys (i.e., boy-oriented, girl-oriented, or gender-neutral features) and employ it to examine gender-related design features in commercially available coding kits for young children aged seven and under (N=110). The findings reveal the lopsided gender representation in coding kits, e.g., their physical forms and supported coding activities are predominantly boy-oriented. We discuss design and research implications for coding kits to welcome participation from children of different genders, especially young girls whose preferred design features are underrepresented in current designs.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Place of Publication	Hamburg Germany
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages	1-19
Number of pages	19
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-4503-9421-5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581035
Publication status	Published - 19 Apr 2023
Event	The 2023 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany Duration: 23 Apr 2023 → 28 Apr 2023 https://chi2023.acm.org/

Conference

Conference	The 2023 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Abbreviated title	CHI 2023
Country/Territory	Germany
City	Hamburg
Period	23/04/23 → 28/04/23
Internet address	https://chi2023.acm.org/

Keywords

Coding Kits
Young Children
Gendered Design Features
Inclusiveness

More information

https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581035

Cite this

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title = "Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children",

abstract = "Computational toys and apps, or coding kits, are the primary learning media for young children to engage in Computational Thinking concepts and skills. However, how coding kits are designed to welcome children of different genders remains unclear, a critical research gap given that computing is mostly a male-dominated field. Drawing on relevant literature, we develop a framework of gender-related design features in toys (i.e., boy-oriented, girl-oriented, or gender-neutral features) and employ it to examine gender-related design features in commercially available coding kits for young children aged seven and under (N=110). The findings reveal the lopsided gender representation in coding kits, e.g., their physical forms and supported coding activities are predominantly boy-oriented. We discuss design and research implications for coding kits to welcome participation from children of different genders, especially young girls whose preferred design features are underrepresented in current designs.",

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Cen, J, Xu, T & Yu, J 2023, Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children. in CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems., 303, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Hamburg Germany, pp. 1-19, The 2023 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Hamburg, Germany, 23/04/23. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581035

Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children. / Cen, Jingyao; Xu, Tian; Yu, Junnan.
CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Hamburg Germany: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2023. p. 1-19 303.

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceeding › Conference article published in proceeding or book › Academic research › peer-review

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Examining Gender-oriented Design Features in Computational Toys and Kits for Young Children

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Keywords

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