Project details: Computer Clubs for Girls:Project Evaluation
Research Team
1. Professor Alison Fuller (Director)
2. H Conner
3. Dr Brenda Johnston
Funding Body
Duration
August 2005 - July 2009
Grant
£220,000
Description
A team at Southampton University has been commissioned by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to carry out an evaluation of an ongoing project Computer Clubs for Girls (CC4G) funded by SEEDA and delivered by e-skills UK. The project, aimed at girls aged 10-13, has set up almost 200 computer clubs in South East schools and represents a significant investment and commitment by SEEDA.
The CC4G Project
The aims of the CC4G project are to:
- Help redress the forecast skills shortage of IT professionals in the South East.
- Increase the number of women who enter jobs and careers in the ICT sector
- Engage the IT industry so that the future needs of industry are properly met through the joint efforts of government, industry and education providers.
- Change the perception of IT as a career for women within the target group of girls participating in the Computer Clubs.
- Counter the perception that IT is a male profession.
The Evaluation
The aims of the four year evaluation are to investigate:
- The impact of the project on the beneficiaries
- The long term sustainability of the CC4G project and its benefits
- Key lessons learned on the process of setting up and providing the clubs, and ways of disseminating effective practice.
The evaluators will speak initially to key informants who have been involved in the development and delivery of the Clubs. They will later carry out surveys of club members, both past and present, in order to find out their experiences and attitudes. The team will build up detailed case studies of a number of individual schools, and will explore employers’ awareness of, and views on, the programme and its capacity to help industry’s needs. All these contributions will be essential in order to achieve the aims of the evaluation and to ensure that effective practice is disseminated to all providers and users of the Clubs.
The evaluation will make recommendations to SEEDA in 2007 and 2009 on the basis of its findings.
The Evaluation Team
The evaluation team consists of Dr Alison Fuller (Director), Prof Grainne Conole, Dr Brenda Johnston and Helen Connor.
Contact details for the team are as follows:
Address:
Dr Brenda Johnston
CC4G Evaluation Project
School of Education
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
Telephone:
023 8059 8864 (Dr Alison Fuller)
023 8059 7576 (Dr Brenda Johnston)
023 8059 2127 (Marie Kenny)
E-mail: af@soton.ac.uk
Fax: 023 8059 3556
