Learning to code and to develop a range of digital skills has been purported to help nations remain economically competitive. Development of these skills has been touted as a way to prepare workers for tech jobs and increase their social mobility. However, this focus is quite narrow and does not recognize the benefits of learning to code beyond the economic benefits. In this paper, we present results from a qualitative study of ‘go_girl: code + create’, a multidisciplinary computing program that places the needs of marginalized young women, aged 16–21, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) at its centre. This study, based on in-depth, semi-structured open-ended interviews of nine participants at the beginning, mid-point and end of the program, examines changes in the self-concepts of these participants. This study demonstrates the role technology can play in facilitating changes in self-concepts and contributes to studies that examine the identity/self-concept of young underrepresented women participating in computing initiatives. Qualitative content analysis was applied to the interview data which revealed enhanced self-concepts in relation to education, career aspirations and technology use over the duration of the program. Participants' aspirations were either broadened or clarified and they began to view themselves as makers and not merely consumers of technology.

学习编码和发展一系列数字技能据称可以帮助国家保持经济竞争力。这些技能的发展被吹捧为让工人为技术工作做好准备并增加他们的社会流动性的一种方式。然而，这种关注非常狭窄，没有认识到学习编码的好处超出了经济利益。在本文中，我们展示了“go_girl: code + create”的定性研究结果，这是一个多学科计算程序，满足 16-21 岁未受教育、就业或培训的边缘化年轻女性 (NEET) 的需求在它的中心。本研究基于在项目开始、中点和结束时对九名参与者进行的深入、半结构化的开放式访谈，检查这些参与者的自我概念的变化。这项研究证明了技术在促进自我概念改变方面可以发挥的作用，并有助于研究参与计算计划的年轻代表性不足的女性的身份/自我概念。对访谈数据进行了定性内容分析，揭示了在课程期间与教育、职业抱负和技术使用相关的自我概念增强。参与者的愿望被拓宽或澄清，他们开始将自己视为制造者，而不仅仅是技术的消费者。对访谈数据进行了定性内容分析，结果显示在课程期间，与教育、职业抱负和技术使用相关的自我概念得到了增强。参与者的愿望被拓宽或澄清，他们开始将自己视为制造者，而不仅仅是技术的消费者。对访谈数据进行了定性内容分析，结果显示在课程期间，与教育、职业抱负和技术使用相关的自我概念得到了增强。参与者的愿望被拓宽或澄清，他们开始将自己视为制造者，而不仅仅是技术的消费者。