Inside the Degree, Outside the Discipline? Testing an Asymmetric Appraisal Model of the Curricular Legitimacy Gap in Computing Education
This study utilizes an asymmetric appraisal model grounded in situated expectancy-value theory to demonstrate that among Computer Science and Engineering undergraduates in Bangladesh, perceived curricular burdens reduce the intention to reuse broader coursework knowledge primarily by increasing its devaluation, whereas perceived benefits foster reuse intentions by both reducing devaluation and directly enhancing willingness.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Engineering problems rarely exist in a vacuum. They happen inside organizations, affect diverse communities, and carry consequences that stretch far beyond whether a machine works correctly. Designing a system, managing data, or building artificial intelligence requires technical skill, but it also demands communication, ethical judgment, and an understanding of how people and society function. Because of this, modern computer science education includes courses in ethics, humanities, and social sciences alongside the heavy technical training in coding and mathematics. The goal is to produce professionals who can navigate the complex human side of technology. However, a significant gap often exists between what universities require and what students actually believe. While a student might be forced to take a course in ethics or communication, they may not view that knowledge as a legitimate or necessary part of being a computer engineer. They might see it as a distraction, a box to check, or a waste of time compared to the "real" work of programming. This disconnect, where a course is present in the curriculum but lacks legitimacy in the student's mind, is the central puzzle researchers sought to solve.
A team of researchers from Bangladesh and Australia investigated this specific disconnect by studying 212 undergraduate computer science and engineering students. They wanted to understand why some students dismiss these broader courses and how that dismissal affects their willingness to use what they learn later in their careers. The study focused on two main feelings students have about these non-technical classes: the burden they feel, such as the mental effort required to switch between coding and writing, and the benefits they perceive, such as improved communication skills or a broader perspective. The researchers tested a model to see if these feelings simply cancel each other out or if they work in different ways to shape a student's attitude. They found that the relationship is not a simple balance sheet where more burden automatically means less value. Instead, the way students judge the worth of these courses depends heavily on how they interpret the effort they are putting in.
The study revealed that when students feel a heavy academic burden, they are much more likely to devalue the course, deciding that the knowledge does not belong in their professional training. This devaluation, in turn, strongly reduces their intention to use what they learned in future projects or jobs. The burden itself does not directly stop them from wanting to use the knowledge; rather, it works by convincing them that the course is irrelevant. If a student thinks the work is hard, they are quick to conclude it is not worth their time. On the other hand, perceived benefits work differently. When students see clear value, such as better critical thinking or communication skills, it reduces their feeling that the course is a waste of time. But beyond just reducing that negative feeling, seeing a benefit also directly increases their willingness to integrate that learning into their future work. The researchers found that benefits have a double effect: they make the course feel less like a burden and they provide a positive reason to use the knowledge later.
This distinction is crucial because it suggests that simply making these courses easier or reducing the workload will not solve the problem of students ignoring them. A lighter course might still be seen as irrelevant if the student cannot see how it connects to their future career. The study, which surveyed students in their second, third, and fourth years of study, showed that the key to legitimacy is not just the difficulty of the work, but the meaning students assign to it. If the effort required to learn about ethics or society is seen as an investment in their professional identity, they are more likely to value it. If that effort is seen as a distraction from "real" engineering, they will dismiss it. The researchers concluded that for these courses to be effective, they must be woven into the technical fabric of the degree. Students need to see repeatedly how ethical reasoning or social awareness changes a technical decision, such as in a software design project or a cybersecurity case. Without these visible connections, even a well-taught course may remain on the transcript as a requirement that students fulfill but never truly embrace.
The findings suggest that universities should focus less on reducing the difficulty of these broader courses and more on making their professional utility obvious. When students can see that understanding human behavior or ethical constraints directly improves the systems they build, the courses gain legitimacy. The study did not prove that one factor causes another, as the data was collected at a single point in time, but the patterns were strong and consistent across different ways of analyzing the data. The researchers noted that their measures were still developing and that the sample was drawn from a specific region, so the results are a starting point for understanding this global issue. Nevertheless, the core insight remains clear: students will not integrate what they learn unless they believe it belongs to their profession. The path to fixing this lies not in lowering the bar, but in raising the visibility of how these broader skills shape the future of technology.
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