Drag and Drop Programming Experiences and Equity: Analysis of a Large Scale Middle School Student Motivation Survey

Drag and drop programming languages have been promoted for broadening participation and increasing motivation for middle grade students in computer science (CS), yet their impact on motivation and the implications for equity are not well documented. This raises questions about potential issues of equity. Despite considerations to increase participation and diversity, these tools have not been evaluated as to how they provide more equitable outcomes regarding student motivation in CS. This study analyzes data from a survey (n=9,573) to investigate middle school student motivation in CS when considering previous experiences with drag and drop programming. Student responses to motivational items are categorized into four factors based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Multiple regression interaction analysis shows that previous experience is associated with increases (p<0.01) in three motivational factors: general academic and computer use confidence, programming confidence, and interest in future CS courses. These associations hold regardless of race and gender although they are lower for demographics underrepresented in CS, female and/or non-White and non-Asian students. Previous experience was also associated with an increase in interest in the current course for White and Asian male students and a decrease for female underrepresented minority students. While it appears that drag and drop programming efforts could help increase future interest and confidence for all students, it does so to differing degrees for different demographics. This suggests that these initiatives are not addressing issues of equity since groups overrepresented in CS still report higher gains than underrepresented demographics after early programming experiences.