Computer Science for All? As a New Subject Spreads, Debates Flare about Precisely What Is Taught, to Whom, and for What Purpose

Autor/in	Oldham, Jennifer
Titel	Computer Science for All? As a New Subject Spreads, Debates Flare about Precisely What Is Taught, to Whom, and for What Purpose
Quelle	In: Education Next, 21 (2021) 4, S.44-51 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1539-9664
Schlagwörter	Computer Science Education; Access to Education; Kindergarten; Elementary Secondary Education; Educational Benefits; Educational Finance; Teacher Qualifications; Barriers; Equal Education; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Status; School Districts; Resource Allocation; Access to Computers; Internet; English Language Learners; Rural Areas; Students with Disabilities; Minority Group Students; Teaching Methods; Public Schools; Instructional Effectiveness; Enrollment Rate + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Computer science lessons; Informatikunterricht; Education; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Bildungsertrag; Bildungsfonds; Lehrqualifikation; Rassenunterschied; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; School district; Schulbezirk; Ressourcenallokation; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Student; Students; Disability; Disabilities; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Behinderung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; Unterrichtserfolg
Abstract	Despite a growing belief among parents, administrators, and students in computer science's benefits, and millions of dollars allocated to offering it in K-12 schools, gaps in access and participation among Black, Hispanic, and white students persist. Today, computer-science-for-all leaders acknowledge they've hit a plateau and that they need more widespread buy-in from lawmakers and educators and increased funding to overcome disparities in the U.S. education system that fall along racial and socioeconomic lines. Constraining the movement's growth are a scarcity of well-qualified teachers, particularly in math and science, and competition for resources in cash-strapped school districts. Hard-fought progress was also stalled by the coronavirus pandemic, when states reallocated or froze funding dedicated to broadening access to the subject in K-12. At the same time, COVID-19 laid bare long-standing inequities in access to laptops and high-speed broadband connections necessary to expand availability across cultures and to English language learners, rural students, and those with disabilities. As advocates remain focused on quantifying computer science's inroads into public schools, there is a dearth of research that evaluates the effectiveness of different instructional methods for developing such skills. Assessments with which to measure curriculum quality, reach, and relevance are also largely absent. What's more, there is no consensus on a robust definition of computer science, with some principals assuming courses that teach office skills will suffice. The tradeoffs of adding the subject in K-12 schools are now becoming apparent. In California, computer-science enrollment growth came at the expense of social studies, English/language arts, foreign language, and arts courses, researchers found. The field's supporters stress the subject must be taught alongside, or integrated into, other core courses, rather than replacing them. Some scholars, though, reject the notion that all K-12 students should learn computer science, comparing the movement to other industry-driven efforts to add vocational training to public schools that led to agriculture, shop, and home-economics classes. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Education Next Institute, Inc. Harvard Kennedy School, Taubman 310, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; Fax: 617-496–4428; e-mail: Education_Next@hks.harvard.edu; Web site: https://www.educationnext.org/the-journal/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01