The story behind this research
MaCTRI is hosting the UK arm of the Abdias Nascimento Academic Development Program which is a collaborative project between the Federal University of the Amazon, Federal University of the Mato Grosso and MEaP Academy Community Training & Research Institute (MaCTRI), Manchester, United Kingdom.
A research project to emerge from this programme is on the development of Computer Science Curricula from an intersectional perspective. The research is being conducted by PhD Student Raescla Ribeiro (Federal University of Amazonas)
Recent studies from Brazilian (Preta Lab, 2022) and British (Coding Black Females, 2022) organizations show that Black women’s participation in Higher Education and the Information Technology (IT) job market remains very low in both countries.
In our doctoral research “Afrocode: Analysis and Proposals for UK and Brazilian Computer Science School Curricula”, based on previous work (Lobo et al, 2018; Matos et al, 2016), we’ve identified the following critical barriers limiting Black girls’ access to computing:
– Gender and racial stereotypes;
– Lack of representation in the field;
– Limited encouragement in first years in the school.
Therefore, we’re currently investigating how Computer Science curricula for schools can:
– Promote inclusion from early school years;
– Show Black female role pioneers in the field;
– Transform this reality in both countries.
OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE
Beyond discussing the problem, we propose solutions. Our primary research goal is to develop Afrocode, an educational repository containing:
Educational Resources:
Lesson plans highlighting Black women pioneers in STEAM
Teaching materials:
• Game creation (Scratch/OctoStudio) featuring Black personalities
• Educational robotics with intersectional approach
Printable materials:
• Unplugged programming activities
• Biographies of Black Brazilian and British scientists
Theoretical framework: Cultural-Historical Theory + Intersectional Black Feminism