{"id":942282,"date":"2021-10-27T07:49:24","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T11:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=942282"},"modified":"2021-10-27T07:49:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T11:49:24","slug":"computer-science-education-is-a-global-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prime-wow.com\/?p=942282","title":{"rendered":"Computer science education is a global challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the last two years, I\u2019ve been one of the advisors to the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, a US-based think tank, on their project to survey formal computing education systems across the world. The resulting education policy report, Building skills for life: How to expand and improve computer science education around the world<\/em><\/a>, pulls together the findings of their research. I\u2019ll highlight key lessons policymakers and educators can benefit from, and what elements I think have been missed.<\/p>\n

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Why a global challenge?<\/h2>\n

Work on this new Brookings report was motivated by the belief that if our goal is to create an equitable, global society, then we need computer science (CS) in school to be accessible around the world; countries need to educate their citizens about computer science, both to strengthen their economic situation and to tackle inequality between countries. The report states that \u201cglobal development gaps will only be expected to widen if low-income countries\u2019 investments in these domains falter while high-income countries continue to move ahead\u201d (p. 12).<\/p>\n

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The report makes an important contribution to our understanding of computer science education policy, providing a global overview as well as in-depth case studies of education policies around the world. The case studies look at 11 countries and territories, including England, South Africa, British Columbia, Chile, Uruguay, and Thailand. The map below shows an overview of the Brookings researchers\u2019 findings. It indicates whether computer science is a mandatory or elective subject, whether it is taught in primary or secondary schools, and whether it is taught as a discrete subject or across the curriculum.<\/p>\n

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Computer science education across the world. Figure courtesy of Brookings Institution<\/a> (click to enlarge).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s a patchy picture, demonstrating both countries\u2019 level of capacity to deliver computer science education and the different approaches countries have taken. Analysis in the Brookings report shows a correlation between a country\u2019s economic position and implementation of computer science in schools: no low-income countries have implemented it at all, while over 20% of high-income countries have mandatory computer science education at both primary and secondary level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Capacity building: IT infrastructure and beyond<\/h2>\n

Given these disparities, there is a significant focus in the report on what IT infrastructure countries need in order to deliver computer science education. This infrastructure needs to be preceded by investment (funds to afford it) and policy (a clear statement of intent and an implementation plan). Many countries that the Brookings report describes as having no computer science education may still be struggling to put these in place.<\/p>\n

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The recently developed CAPE (capacity, access, participation, experience) framework<\/a> offers another way of assessing disparities in education. To have capacity<\/strong> to make computer science part of formal education, a country needs to put in place the following elements:<\/p>\n