[Paper] Measuring Computer Science Enthusiasm: A Questionnaire-Based Analysis of Age and Gender Effects on Students' Interest

Source: arXiv - 2512.08472v1

Overview

A recent study by Marquardt et al. investigates how age and gender shape adolescents’ short‑term enthusiasm for computer science (CS). By deploying a new questionnaire before and after online CS activities, the authors reveal that enthusiasm drops sharply in early teens—especially for girls—but that older students can experience the biggest boost from well‑designed interventions. The findings challenge the “early‑exposure‑equals‑long‑term‑interest” mantra and suggest a more nuanced, age‑sensitive approach to CS outreach.

Key Contributions

• Introduces “enthusiasm” as a measurable, short‑term indicator of CS interest, combining affect, relevance, and intent to re‑engage.
• Develops a theory‑driven pre‑post questionnaire grounded in the Person‑Object Theory of Interest (POI).
• Analyzes a large, diverse sample (N > 400) of adolescents across multiple age brackets and genders.
• Demonstrates that age outweighs gender in predicting enthusiasm trajectories, identifying critical developmental breakpoints.
• Shows that older students can achieve the largest positive shifts in enthusiasm after brief, well‑crafted CS activities.

Methodology

1. Theoretical framing – The authors adopt the Person‑Object Theory of Interest, which treats interest as a dynamic interplay between a person’s affective state and the perceived value of an activity.
2. Questionnaire design – A short, 12‑item instrument was built to capture three dimensions of enthusiasm:
   • (a) positive affect (“I enjoyed the activity”)
   • (b) perceived relevance (“I see CS as useful for me”)
   • (c) intention to re‑engage (“I’d like to do more CS”)
     The same items were administered before and after a 45‑minute online CS module.
3. Sample & setting – Over 400 middle‑ and high‑school students (ages ≈ 11‑18) from several schools participated in the online module, which covered basic programming concepts.
4. Statistical analysis – Mixed‑effects models examined changes in enthusiasm scores, with age and gender entered as fixed effects and school as a random effect. Interaction terms allowed the team to spot age‑by‑gender differences.

Results & Findings

Practical Implications

• Design age‑tiered outreach: Create distinct modules for early adolescents (11‑13) that blend CS with relatable contexts (e.g., games, social media) to counteract the enthusiasm dip.
• Leverage “re‑activation” moments: For older teens, short, high‑impact workshops (45 min–1 h) can be surprisingly effective—use them as boosters before major curriculum units or career fairs.
• Metrics for rapid feedback: Adopt the authors’ enthusiasm questionnaire as a low‑cost diagnostic tool to evaluate the immediate impact of hackathons, coding clubs, or MOOCs.
• Targeted support for girls: Since the gender gap widens in early adolescence, mentorship programs, female role‑model videos, and collaborative projects can help sustain interest.
• Dynamic curriculum planning: Instead of assuming early exposure guarantees long‑term engagement, schools can schedule periodic “interest‑check” points and adapt content based on measured enthusiasm levels.

Limitations & Future Work

• Self‑report bias: Enthusiasm was captured via questionnaires, which may be influenced by social desirability or momentary mood.
• Single‑session intervention: The study measured only one brief activity; longer‑term retention of enthusiasm remains unknown.
• Cultural scope: Participants were drawn from a limited set of schools; cross‑cultural validation is needed.
• Future directions: The authors suggest longitudinal tracking of enthusiasm across multiple interventions, exploring additional demographic factors (e.g., socioeconomic status), and testing the questionnaire in varied instructional settings (e.g., in‑person labs, VR environments).

Authors

• Kai Marquardt
• Robert Hanak
• Anne Koziolek
• Lucia Happe

Paper Information

• arXiv ID: 2512.08472v1
• Categories: cs.SE, cs.CY, econ.GN
• Published: December 9, 2025
• PDF: Download PDF