{"id":318,"date":"2025-04-05T03:51:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T03:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/?p=318"},"modified":"2025-04-05T03:51:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T03:51:00","slug":"a-review-of-literature-on-broadening-diversity-in-cybersecurity-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/2025\/04\/05\/a-review-of-literature-on-broadening-diversity-in-cybersecurity-education\/","title":{"rendered":"A Review of Literature on Broadening Diversity in Cybersecurity Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Rythem Anderson-Seawell<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Old Dominion University<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Securing the Human: A Review of Literature on Broadening Diversity in Cybersecurity Education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The article &#8220;Securing the Human: A Review of Literature on Broadening Diversity in Cybersecurity Education&#8221; is scholarly. It is published in the Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Topic Relates to Social Science Principles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The social science principles of safety\/privacy, benefit and harm, and social responsibility relate to the topic of study. The article explores diversity in cybersecurity as a means of enhancing security and staying ahead of cybercriminals (Mountrouidou, 2019). The benefits and harms principle is tackled by addressing how lack of diversity affects not only minority groups but also how reversing the trend could benefit everyone. Social responsibility aims to reverse the current lack of diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, demonstrating that with diversity, the status quo is suboptimal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Research Question\/Hypothesis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The article aims to answer three research questions: the current status of diversity in cybersecurity, gaps in education research for diversification, and the success or otherwise of current approaches to diversity. The authors do not form hypotheses as to what they expect to find concerning these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Types of Research Methods Used<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The study is completed by reviewing literature on the subject. An open literature search methodology helps identify potentially relevant articles, while a focused literature search helps synthesize findings from the studies that are ultimately included in the review (Mountrouidou, 2019). This systematic approach is appropriate in arriving at relevant articles that explore the three specific research questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Types of Data and Analysis done<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Qualitative and quantitative data are used to complete the study. The authors aim to synthesize both quantitative and qualitative findings from past studies. Once collected, data is coded and organized according to recurring thematic areas. Themes make it possible to make sense of different and sometimes contradictory findings and narrow down the numerous studies into the specific research questions investigated in this study.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Article Relates to Concepts from Class<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There is a direct relationship between the article and the concepts covered in class. The article&#8217;s promotion of diversity aims to bolster cybersecurity and prevent infiltration of IT systems. It is related to class materials that observed the necessity of protecting IT systems (MySTOA, 2017). The article and the class materials emphasize identifying barriers to minorities seeing cybersecurity as a potential career path, as a prerequisite for targeted interventions. The proposal for developing culturally responsive curriculum materials matches the example provided in the class materials regarding an elective course providing an African American with no role models or history in cybersecurity with a successful career in the field Izuakor, C. (2019). Lastly, the efforts proposed in the article will mitigate unintended consequences, particularly in ensuring minorities are not sidelined as cybersecurity evolves, a risk that the class materials emphasized the need to manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How Topic Relates to Challenges, Concerns, and Contributions of Marginalized Groups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The topic relates to the hurdles marginalized groups face within STEM fields and demonstrates their prospects are even worse within cybersecurity. Pointing at the systemic barriers these groups face provides a foundation for addressing them. The authors effectively advocate for inclusive interventions, demonstrating that the multiplicity of perspectives that inclusion of marginalized groups in cybersecurity will benefit the field. The case is persuasive even for those who may have reservations regarding the appropriateness of affirmative action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overall Societal Contributions of the Study<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The study helps synthesize the current knowledge on the subject. It helps make sense of what different authors have established and point to existing gaps. Importantly, by exploring the effectiveness of the current strategies for enhancing diversity, the study points to best practice that should be leveraged to promote diversity in cybersecurity. Evaluating the veracity of the claims made in previous studies regarding diversity in cybersecurity is a critical approach that promises to advance the discipline.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Izuakor, C. (2019). Hacking the cyber security diversity challenge: a generational perspective. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0WMlYgTZby8<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mountrouidou, X., et al. (2019). Securing the human: a review of literature on broadening diversity in cybersecurity education<em>. ITiCSE- Working Group Report<\/em> \u201919, July 15-17, 2019, Aberdeen, Scotland UK, 157-176. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MySTOA. (2017). The ethics of cyber-physical systems. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c5gu8xmmum4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rythem Anderson-Seawell Old Dominion University Securing the Human: A Review of Literature on Broadening Diversity in Cybersecurity Education &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The article &#8220;Securing the Human: A Review of Literature on Broadening Diversity in Cybersecurity Education&#8221; is scholarly. It is published in the Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) journal. How Topic Relates to Social&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/2025\/04\/05\/a-review-of-literature-on-broadening-diversity-in-cybersecurity-education\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":29772,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29772"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions\/319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rythemanderson-seawell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}