This study examines the underpinnings of Japan's "programming education" in elementary school music, officially implemented nationwide in 2020. Through that reform, which has introduced "programming thinking" (a local version of computational thinking) in all areas of compulsory education, the country follows the international…

In this study, the Computer Science (CS) education in K-12 of the countries in the "Asia-Pacific region", which are among the top 10 in PISA, and CS education of Türkiye were investigated. PISA is conducted to assess science, mathematics, and reading skills. PISA, which is carried out every 3 years by the OECD, evaluates 15-yearold…

The increased focus on computational thinking has led to the acceptance of computer programming as one of the ways of teaching computational thinking. In 2020, Japan introduced programming education in elementary schools. To understand the current situation of parental involvement at the beginning of programming education, this study aimed to know…

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly common in educational settings, especially in programming education. However, the impact of these tools on the learning process, student performance, and best practices for their integration remains underexplored. This study examines student experiences and…

Three years after Japan integrated "programming" into all elementary school subjects, questions remain on how policy is being put into practice in arts education. This article examines the current state of "programming" - activities addressing a local version of computational thinking - in music, with a focus on Japan's pending…

Cultivating children's creativity and imagination is fundamental to preparing them for an increasingly complex and uncertain future. Engaging in creative learning enables children to think independently and critically, work cooperatively, and take risks while actively engaged in meaningful projects. While current trends in education, such as maker…

This study investigated the role of virtual reality (VR) in computer science (CS) education over the last 10 years by conducting a bibliometric and content analysis of articles related to the use of VR in CS education. A total of 971 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and conferences were collected from Web of Science and Scopus…

Mobile learning is well established in literature and practice, but under-evolved from a rigorous learning design perspective. Activity theory presents a sophisticated way of mapping and understanding learning design, but for mobile learning this does not always translate into change in practice. The reported research addresses this by coupling a…

This discussion examines the ever-increasing impact of top-down nation-wide educational reforms on teachers in Japan, exemplified in the 2020 reform. Its unique contribution is a suggestion of an interdisciplinary framework: programming education and English as a foreign language education in elementary schools. Many elementary school teachers are…

This study aims to explore an educational learning environment that supports students to learn conceptual modelling with the unified modelling language (UML). In this study, we call the describing models "UML programming." In this paper, we show an educational UML programming environment for science, technology, engineering, art, and…