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ERIC Number: EJ1345811
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 8
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1539-9664
EISSN: EISSN-1539-9672
Available Date: N/A
Computer Science for All? As a New Subject Spreads, Debates Flare about Precisely What Is Taught, to Whom, and for What Purpose
Oldham, Jennifer
Education Next, v21 n4 p44-51 Fall 2021
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.
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/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A