Perceptions of a gender-inclusive curriculum amongst Australian information and communications technology academics

The lack of female enrolments in ICT is widely recognised and has prompted a range of strategies to attract more women, most of which do not include curriculum changes at any level. Research suggests that there are aspects of the ICT curriculum that could appeal to females, particularly in relation to benefits to society and humanity in general, and that including these considerations in the curriculum would be of interest to all students. The perceptions of a gender-inclusive ICT curriculum in Australia have been ascertained from a survey and forum discussions of ICT academic managers and leaders of ICT learning and teaching. Although a significant proportion of the surveyed academics recognises that different features of the ICT curriculum appeal to males (mainly technology) and females (mainly the benefits of the technology to humanity) this has not translated into the practical implementation of a genderinclusive curriculum in most institutions. Most respondents would welcome informative guidelines on developing a gender inclusive curriculum.