[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
Skip to main content

Curricula in Computer Science

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies
  • 105 Accesses

Introduction

In recent years, a number of reports from various countries have expressed concerns about Computer Science being neglected and school curricula not serving learners’ or their countries’ needs well (Joint Informatics Europe and ACM Europe Working Group on Informatics Education 2013; The Royal Society 2012; Wilson et al. 2010). Subsequently many countries have reviewed their curricula and in some cases brought in major reforms that focus on incorporating more Computer Science (Webb et al. 2017). This article aims to review concerns and recent changes and to examine their rationale. Furthermore, the article discusses the challenges associated with achieving a curriculum, incorporating Computer Science, that is fit for purpose. First key terminology in relation to Computer Science curricula is defined since variations in the use of terminology can be a source of confusion.

Terminology and Definitions

When discussing curricula for Computer Science, the need to identify an...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • ACM (2003) A model curriculum for K-12 Computer Science: final report of the ACM K-12 task force curriculum committee. ACM, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruner JS (1960) The process of education. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Denning PJ (2007) The profession of IT: computing is a natural science. Commun ACM 50:13–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department for Education (2013) National curriculum in England: computing programmes of study. London, England. available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-computing-programmes-of-study

  • Duncan C, Bell T, Tanimoto S (2015) Should your 8-year-old learn coding? In: Proceedings of the 9th workshop in primary and secondary computing education (WIPSCE 2015). ACM, New York, 2670774, pp 60–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Fluck A, Webb ME, Cox M, Angeli C, Malyn-Smith J, Voogt J, Zagami J (2016) Arguing for Computer Science in the school curriculum. Educ Technol Soc 19:38–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Joint Informatics Europe & ACM Europe Working Group on Informatics Education (2013) Informatics education: Europe cannot afford to miss the boat: report of the joint Informatics Europe & ACM Europe Working Group on Informatics Education

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education New Zealand (2017) Digital technologies|Hangarau Matihiko. Draft for consultation. Available at: https://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/consultations/DT-consultation/DTCP1701-Digital-Technologies-Hangarau-Matihiko-ENG.pdf

  • Papert S (1996) An exploration in the space of mathematics educations. Int J Comput Math Learn 1:95–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Rich KM, Strickland C, Binkowski TA, Moran C, Franklin D (2018) K–8 learning trajectories derived from research literature: sequence, repetition, conditionals. ACM Inroads 9:46–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robins A, Rountree J, Rountree N (2003) Learning and teaching programming: a review and discussion. Comput Sci Educ 13:137–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahami M, Roach S, Cuadros-Vargas E, LeBlanc R (2013) ACM/IEEE-CS Computer Science curriculum 2013: reviewing the ironman report. In: Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer Science education. ACM, Denver, pp 13–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Sztajn P, Confrey J, Wilson PH, Edgington C (2012) Learning trajectory based instruction: toward a theory of teaching. Educ Res 41:147–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Royal Society (2012) Shut down or restart? The way forward for computing in UK schools. The Royal Society, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb ME, Fluck A, Cox M, Angeli-Valanides C, Malyn-Smith J, Voogt J, Zagami J (2015) Thematic Working Group 9: curriculum – advancing understanding of the roles of Computer Science/Informatics in the curriculum. In: Lai K-W (ed) EDUsummIT 2015 summary report: technology advance quality learning for all. Bangkok, pp 60–69, available at: http://www.curtin.edu.au/edusummit/local/docs/edusummit2015-ebook.pdf

  • Webb ME, Davis N, Bell T, Katz YJ, Reynolds N, Chambers DP, Sysło MM (2017) Computer Science in K-12 school curricula of the 2lst century: why, what and when? Educ Inf Technol 22:445–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson C, Sudol LA, Stephenson C, Stehlik M (2010) Running on empty: the failure to teach K-12 Computer Science in the digital age. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Winch C (2013) Curriculum design and epistemic ascent. J Philos Educ 47:128–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wing J (2006) Computational thinking. Commun ACM 49:33–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young M (2013) Overcoming the crisis in curriculum theory: a knowledge-based approach. J Curric Stud 45:101–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary E. Webb .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Webb, M.E. (2019). Curricula in Computer Science. In: Tatnall, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60013-0_7-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60013-0_7-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60013-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60013-0

  • eBook Packages: Living Reference Computer SciencesReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

Publish with us

Policies and ethics