A Tale of Two Countries

Abstract

This article tells a story of K-12 computer science in two different countries. These two countries differ profoundly in culture, language, government and state structure, and in their education systems. Despite these differences, however, they share the pursuit of excellence and high standards in K-12 education. In Israel, curriculum is determined at the national level. The high-school computer science curriculum has been in place for more than 20 years and is offered in all schools as an elective similar to biology, chemistry, and physics. The picture in the United States is more complex and therefore less amenable to generalization. Because educational policy is set at the state and sometimes even at the school district level, access to computer science courses and the content of those courses can vary even for schools within the same district. This article will describe the development of the curricula/standards in both countries and the current situation, focusing on common issues and challenges in areas such as equity and teacher training.

A Longitudinal Analysis of K-12 Computing Education Research in the United States

“…Previous research studies conducted in the field have reported on some of the major trends of K-12 computing education across the United States (US), including student demographic and program data. Some reports have stated that the decentralized education system in the US has resulted in inconsistencies in the education policies throughout the country [16]. However, a 2018 report by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition shows the positive relationship between the number of policies adopted by a state and number of high schools offering CS education [9].…”

Youth and Digital Citizenship+ (Plus): Understanding Skills for a Digital World

“…Just as the area of data provides a road map for young people to navigate today's data-rich world, competency in computer science -particularly computer programming -affords youth the opportunity to engage with rapidly emerging digital technologies. Israel was one of the first countries to introduce computer science as an academic subject in high schools, starting in the mid-1970s (Gal-Ezer & Stephenson, 2014). More recently, 18 European countries -including Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain -and other countries around the world, such as Australia and Japan, have been working on integrating computer science as part of the kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum (Touretzky, Gardner-McCune, Martin, & Seehorn, 2019).…”

An Investigation of High School Students’ Errors in Introductory Programming: A Data-Driven Approach

“…In the new national curriculum standards, computational thinking is considered a core literacy for all students, and computer programming is a required module of the information technology curriculum. While the expansion of CS education provides opportunities for more students to learn programming and develop computational thinking from an early age, a lack of quality CS teachers in K-12 education is a problem in many countries (Gal-ezer & Stephenson, 2014;Webb et al, 2017).…”