Teachers' attitudes towards implementing coding at schools
Hana Buckova, Jiřı́ Dostál · 2019
The process of implementing coding at schools attended by pupils from six to fourteen years of age is a current trend in developed countries. In some cases, simple activities involving coding might be even included at kindergartens attended by children from three years of age. The crucial aim is to develop the so-called computational thinking which is going to be more and more essential for a successful personal and professional development of every individual. There is a broad range of factors influencing the success of the change in the curriculum, which is, inter alia, supposed to include coding. In addition to the necessary teaching aids and know-how, teachers also need to have positive attitudes towards its implementation. The main objective of our research is to identify teachers' attitudes towards introducing coding to their classes. We discovered that not all teachers of computing agree with including algorithmization and coding in their teaching. Approximately one half of the questioned educators hold a negative attitude towards the curricular change; they would rather continue teaching computer user skills and basic programs. Their attitude proves to be an impediment to a successful curricular change as teachers should fully grasp the teaching content and communicate it with enthusiasm to their pupils. Insufficient knowledge is the key factor influencing teachers' negative attitudes towards the introduction of coding to schools.