The study examined the Advancing Rural Computer Science (ARCS) program, a professional development initiative designed to improve elementary teachers' computer science (CS) content knowledge, pedagogical practices, and self-efficacy, with the goal of enhancing K-5 students' interest in and knowledge of CS. ARCS was funded through USED EIR…

Despite being in a digital age, the diversity of young people choosing to study and work in computing is of ongoing concern, especially low numbers of girls. This paper aims to determine the profile of students who are more likely to aspire to be computer scientists and provide insights into the key factors that shape their aspirations in this…

This randomized control trial evaluated the impact of a year-long professional development (PD) program on elementary teachers' CS content knowledge, self-efficacy, and CS implementation. It also investigated teachers' PD experiences and expectations. The findings suggest that treatment teachers' self-efficacy for teaching CS significantly…

Context: With the introduction of Computer Science (CS) into curricula worldwide, teachers' adoption of CS pedagogical content is essential to ensure the long-term success of reform initiatives. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs play a key role in this process. Unfortunately, adoption is seldom evaluated in CS-CPDs or CPDs in…

Identity has received ample attention in computing education research from the viewpoint of "computing identity" and broadening participation, while more attention has been called for to clarify its role. We looked into identity development in the context of Computer Science 1 (CS1) based on Marcia's identity statuses and subsequent…

Integrating computer science (CS) content into existing STEM curricula emerges as a viable solution to broadening rural students' participation in CS, but rural students have a significant proficiency gap in science and mathematics. By focusing on an English language arts course as the context for CS integration, this exploratory study examined…

The aim of research is to reveal the effect of a training program based on the TAWOCK model for teaching computational thinking skills on teaching self-efficacy among computer teachers. It used the quasi-experimental approach, with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. An electronic training program based on the TAWOCK model was…

Students learning computer science frequently struggle with debugging errors in their code. These struggles can have significant downstream effects--negatively influencing how students assess their programming ability and contributing to their decision to drop out of CS courses. However, debugging instruction is often an overlooked topic, and…

The goal of this study was to examine how two groups of middle school students' self-efficacy, interest, goal orientation, and prior experience related to evidence of their building upon existing ideas and code in digital artifacts they created using MIT's App Inventor, a computational practice that Brennan and Resnick (2012) identified as…

Background: Today, the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and training is widely recognised and accepted. Computer programming courses have become essential in higher education to nurture students' programming, analysis and computational skills, which are vital for success in all STEM fields and areas.…

Advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) coupled with artificial intelligence have made computer programming skills indispensable for IT majors and for an increasing number of other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Like any hands-on skill, mastering computer programming requires dedicated…

This study aims to examine university students' intentions to use artificial intelligence (AI) applications in their educational processes within the context of job characteristics (JC), technology characteristics (TC), task-technology fit (TTF), and self-efficacy (SE). The research was conducted with 965 students enrolled in Information…

Students must grasp creative thinking as a crucial 21st-century talent to enhance learning achievement. Empirical research indicates that pupils' creative thinking skills and learning achievements require enhancement and attention. This study examines the impact of a project-based learning framework with STEAM methodology and self-efficacy levels…

Background/purpose: This research explores the use of robotics to facilitate the learning of computer programming among non-specialist pre-service teachers with no prior programming experience. With the increasing demand for 21st-century teaching competencies, it is essential to equip future educators with computational thinking (CT) skills, even…

This study sought to understand the "influence of robotics on self-efficacy and interest in computer science." It provides the background that has led to the current research need. The study conducted was a double pre-test, repeated measures post-test quasi-experimental study, performed by the researcher to determine the effects of a…