Feeling the weight of the water: a longitudinal study of how capital and identity shape young people’s computer science trajectories over time, age 10–21

Figures & data

Table 1. Background information of interviewees who during the interviews considered choosing CS or IT-related higher education studies.

Interviewee (pseudonym)	Gender	Ethnicity	Social class	GCSE subjects*	A Level subjects (grade)	Age when first aspired towards computing or IT careers	Degree subject/status at age 22
Josh	Man	White British	Lowermiddle-class	IT, Geography, Religious Education (RE), Physical Education (PE), Statistics	Maths (A*), Further Maths (B), Physics (B),Computing (A)	10/11	Completed Computer science undergraduate, working
Bob	Man	White-South Asian	Upper middle-class	Resistant materials, Geography, Spanish, ICT	Maths (A), Physics (A), Computer Science (B)	10/11	Computer science undergraduate working as Software Engineer
Gerrard	Man	White EasternEuropean	Working-class	ICT, PE, Business studies, Graphics, Mandarin	Maths (A*), Further Maths (A*), Physics (A) [HSK Level 3 Chinese]	13/14	Maths with computer science undergraduate
Bethany	Women	White	Lower middle-class	Product Design, History, Business Studies	English Literature, Sociology, Applied ICT (grades C, C, D – subjects not specified)	17/18	Started (but didn’t finish) Computer science undergraduate, now working in retail management
MacTavish	Man	White	Working-class	German, Geography, PE and Drama	AS Levels only: Geography, IT, Use of Maths and PE	10/11	Working in landscaping (landscaping qualifications gained age 18)
Kaka	Man	South Asian	Middle-class	Computer Science, Spanish, History and PE	Biology (A), Chemistry (A), Maths (A) [AS Level in PE]	17/18	Medicine degree
Poppy	Woman	White	Upper middle-class	Geography, ICT, Music	Chemistry (A), Maths (A*), Biology (A*)	None	Chemistry undergraduate with postgraduate law conversion
Victor	Man	White	Lower middle-class	Computing, Product Design, French, History, German	Physic (C), Maths (D), Economics (C)	13/14	Astrophysics undergraduate working in Administrative/data role
Finch	Man	Mixed	Middle-class	Italian, Chinese, German, started Computing but dropped it	Biology (E), English Literature (C), Music (B)	13/14	Music performance undergraduate working as a freelance musician

*All young people took GCSEs in English language, Mathematics and Science in addition to the ones mentioned here.

Table 2. Young people’s aspirations over time.

Interviewee	Age 10/11	Age 12/13	Age 13/14	Age 15/16	Age 17/18	Age 20/21
Josh	Pharmacy or IT	Marine biology	Programming, army, marine biology	Cyber security, electronic engineer, software programmer	Computer science, cyber security	Cyber security (something well-paid)
Bob	Fireman, IT-consultant, or scientist	Electronics engineer	Electronics engineer	Electronic engineer or web design	Programming job, or something well-paid	Job in tech – cloud architect
Gerrard	Footballer, Doctor, Lawyer, or a scientist working at NASA	Maybe a scientist or astronomer	Maybe something linked to computers, web design	Not interviewed	Pure maths, astronomy, computer science, cryptography, or software engineering	Earn enough to support family
Bethany	Teacher or surgeon	Teacher or nurse	Architect or scientist	No clear aspiration but suggested something to do with English or History	Computer science, programmer	Work in Human Resources
MacTavish	Police officer, footballer, or computer technician	Video games designer or footballer	Something involving sport	Something to do with sports or sports coaching	No clear aspiration	Not interviewed
Kaka	Scientist, mathematician, or footballer	Scientist, footballer, or mechanic	scientist, or surgeon (or something to do with science)	Biology of PE or sports physiotherapist	Medicine specialising in sporting injuries, perhaps computing	Doctor in America or Middle East
Poppy	Something adventurous involving science	Veterinarian	Veterinarian	Something in science (Natural Sciences)	Something that isn’t purely science – law conversion	Law conversion (patent law)
Victor	Scientist, inventor, or engineer	Science teacher, musician in a band	Science teacher or IT technician	Astrophysicist	Astrophysicist	Classic car mechanic, or space exploration
Finch	Nuclear physicist, astrophysicist, or policeman as backup	Scientist (chemist), classical musician, or property developer.	Musician or application developer	Concert flautist	Orchestral flute player	More “academic” study, or session musician

Table 3. CS trajectories and aspirations, liking & competences, experiences and capital.

	Aspirations		Liking and competence in CS and supporting subjects		CS educational experiences		Capital
	Age first aspired to CS job	Nature of CS aspirations	CS	Science and Maths	CSA Level	CS degree	Family CS/Maths capital	Informal CS learning
Smooth CS trajectories(successfully completed CS degree): Bob, Josh	early (10/11)	Intrinsic and extrinsic	Strong	Strong	Positive	Positive	Strong, e.g. multipleimmediate family members working in tech	Regular (e.g. afterschool coding club, home resources)
Contested CS trajectories (experiencing challenges on CS degree): Bethany, Gerrard	late (G − 13/14; B − 17/18)	Extrinsic	Weak/partial	Weak/partial	N/A orneutral	Mixed/negative	medium/low e.g. family friend	Occasional
Fleeting CS trajectories (did not enroll on CS degree): MacTavish, Finch, Poppy, Victor, Kaka	late (17/18) or never	Extrinsic or NA	Weak/partial	Weak/partial	N/A ornegative	N/A	low (one exception - Poppy)	None