Author(s)

J.S. Briggs

Abstract

This paper sets out the author's personal view of factors that negatively affect the motivation of software engineering students. Firstly, software engineering is no longer just "computer programming", but this is not something that all undergraduates realise, especially those who have not been exposed to "proper" computer science at school or at home. Secondly, the amount of mathematics involved in the subject is much more than a newcomer to it might expect or want. Thirdly, there are difficulties in teaching the techniques for solving large-scale problems. Finally, the subject has matured to the extent that is no longer necessary to practise some of the traditional skills since software is often already available to perform many tasks, or textbooks available to provide a recipe for a solution. 1. Introduction Do students want to

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