Enhancing Interest in Cybersecurity Careers: A Peer Mentoring Perspective
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Date
2018-02-21
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Citation of Original Publication
Janeja, Vandana P. et al.; Enhancing Interest in Cybersecurity Careers: A Peer Mentoring Perspective; SIGCSE ’18, Feb. 21–24, 2018; https://doi.org/10.1145/3159450.3159563
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Abstract
The focus of this paper is an evaluation of our peer mentoring
framework designed to encourage more students to seek cybersecurity career pathways through providing peer interactions. We
present and compare results from two years (Spring 2016 and 2017)
of interaction between students in an introductory Information
Systems class (IS 300: Management of Information Systems) and an
upper-level elective Cybersecurity course (IS 471: Data Analytics for
Cybersecurity). Our results show a continuation of the general trend
observed in the 2016 study. The students who receive peer mentoring show more interest in cybersecurity issues and careers and gain
more overall knowledge throughout the semester, than those who
don’t. This is reflected by the results of an anonymous survey and
overall grade improvements. These students show more variations
regarding their choice of cybersecurity as a career compared to
students who did not receive any mentoring, demonstrating that
they are able to make more informed decisions. Female students
exhibit more pronounced responses to peer mentoring in contrast
to their male counterparts.