Global Computer Science Education
This document is intended to track the status of computer science education internationally.
It is a crowd-sourced document, so if you are able to add countries, information, or source links, please add to it by inserting a comment.
Note that the focus of this document is formal, in-school CS education at the primary and secondary school levels, not post-secondary, university, after-school clubs, or informal education.
Disclaimer: The content of this document has not been verified by Code.org nor is it endorsed by Code.org.
Country Name | Summary of CS Education and In-Progress Efforts | Relevant Links | Type of progress | |
Latin America Policies and Practices for Teaching Computer Science in Latin America | ||||
Argentina | In 2018, Argentina launched the programme “Aprender Conectados”, which extended digital literacy programmes to al levels of compulsory education, integrating programming and robotics. Led by the Ministry of Education, this national policy aims to guarantee digital literacy and key digital skills necessary for integration in the digital culture and the society of the future. It provides educational resources, like lesson plans, teachers guides, and video tutorials, for digital education, programming and robotics for all compulsory levels and for the Teacher Training Institutes, reaching almost 8 million people. It guarantees access to the necessary technology to reach its goals by providing mobile digital classrooms to every state school, which includes devices aimed specifically at the learning of programming and robotics. As an important part of this plan, the Ministry of Education is leading a collaborative effort along Secretaries of Education from all Provinces to include programming for all levels of compulsory education. The Ministry of Education is launching this year the first “Programing and Robotics Marathon”. Aimed at all state schools, students from all over Argentina will develop programming solutions based on real-world problems. | 22-23 conectar Igualdad framework does not include CS per se: https://www.educ.ar/recursos/158385/plan-nacional-de-inclusion-nacional-educativa-marco-politico/download/inline Policies and Practices for Teaching Computer Science in Latin America | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Brazil | The new education curricula failed to include CS as a stand-alone subject and there is no reference to it in the documents related to the recent education reform. The State of Sao Paulo, the largest in the country, is incorporating CS in some public schools. | Government pronouncement (state) | ||
Chile | The Ministry of Education launched the National Plan of Digital Languages to incorporate computer programming and computational thinking in the classroom. | Case: https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-chile-implemented-its-computer-science-program/ https://sitios.mineduc.cl/lenguajesdigitales/ Office of the President Website Policies and Practices for Teaching Computer Science in Latin America | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Colombia | Computadores para Educar is the name of the national initiative to teach using ICT and also includes CS content so that students not only learn using technology but also learn how to create technology. The main challenge is that computer science is not a standalone subject and it is considered as one of the tools to learn various subjects. It is not clear how much real impact is this initiative having in really teaching computational thinking. | https://colombiaaprende.edu.co/recurso-coleccion/coding-kids-programacion-para-ninos-y-ninas https://www.computadoresparaeducar.gov.co/publicaciones/877/programartes/ Policies and Practices for Teaching Computer Science in Latin America | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Costa Rica | Costa Rica has a 30-year old education policy focused on the use of ICT in education that includes computer science. They have a very robust curriculum for high school and middle school as an elective. A key partner for the Ministry of Education is the Omar Dengo Foundation, that has been recommending education policy and designing curriculum, including for computer science. It seems like there is an opportunity in elementary and also by requiring CS instead of just being an elective. | Policies and Practices for Teaching Computer Science in Latin America | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Ecuador | Ecuador's Ministry of Education launched the Digital Education Agenda 2017-2021, then the 21-25 which aims to integrate digital teaching and learning into the national education system. Establishing computer science as a foundational subject in the national curriculum is a major part of the agenda's five main initiatives: increased access to connectivity and devices, curriculum and pedagogy, teacher development, communication and promotion, and innovative applications. | https://educacion.gob.ec/agenda-educativa-digital/ https://educacion.gob.ec/conectando-al-futuro-componentes/ | Government pronouncement | |
Mexico | The national education curricula doesn’t include CS currently even though high level officials of the past administration were vocal about the need to include it. The current administration haven’t put much emphasis on the subject, but the Ministry of Education of Mexico city is working with our national partner in Mexico to implement CS education in 7,000 public schools without having defined education policy mandating it. | Government pronouncement | ||
Uruguay | Uruguay’s “Plan Ceibal " provides a laptop per student. At school (mostly high school), students learn to program in Scratch and robotics. Between 80-100% of schools offer coding. | Case: https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-uruguay-implemented-its-computer-science-education-program/ Policies and Practices for Teaching Computer Science in Latin America | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
North America | ||||
Canada | The federal government will spend $50M over the next 2 years to teach 500,000 students coding and other digital skills, by equipping 500 teachers to teach the skills. Funding applicants must be not-for-profit organizations incorporated in Canada. (6/14/17) British Columbia released a new curriculum plan to introduce coding across all grades over the next three years (2016). “The new B.C. coding curriculum will be introduced across all grades over the next three years, featuring new standards in mathematics and sciences and a new and redesigned “applied design, skills and technologies” (ADST) component to improve students’ abilities to solve problems and think creatively.” Nova Scotia dedicated $1 million to computer science education. “The 2016/17 school year in British Columbia, Canada begins with the launch of the officially redesigned curriculum for primary and lower secondary education (K–9). This is part of a three-year transitionary process, which commenced in the autumn of 2015 [71]. CT is integrated as a Core Content from grades 6 to 8 as part of the subject Applied Design, Skills and Technologies. The focus is on simple algorithms that reflect CT, visual representations of problems and data, the evolution of programming languages, and visual programming. A draft curriculum for upper secondary level (grades 10–12) is available and ready for optional use in classrooms in the 2016/17 school year.” Find a list of groups in Canada teaching computational thinking, coding, and digital skills, from Ladies Learning Code (@learningcode) here. In June, 2020, the Provincial Government of Ontario announced that the new math curriculum will include personal finances and coding starting in Grade 1. | http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/feds-launch-50m-initiative-to-teach-kids-to-code-1.3458792 http://www.novascotia.ca/finance/site-finance/media/finance/budget2016/Budget-Address.pdf (see p. 9) http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | ||
Asia | ||||
China | In China, kids are required to take four credits (1 semester) of CS in high school, but implementation across the country varies. About 9 million of their best students take the college entrance exam, meaning all of these kids have been exposed to CS. | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
India | Computer Science was included in the secondary education syllabus in 2011 under the previous government. Computer science was introduced in 2,000 of 5,000 higher secondary schools. It is not compulsory and not a stand alone subject across the nation. | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Indonesia | Indonesia to introduce coding in national curriculum - curriculum being tested as of Jan 2018. | Government pronouncement | ||
Iran | In Iran, every high school teaches CS, and roughly 1/3 of students choose a "tech track" in which they receive at least a full-year course. However, much of the instruction uses outdated technology (e.g., Visual Basic). | Need source | ||
Japan | The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has made computer programming a compulsory subject in primary schools in 2020, in middle schools in 2021, and in high schools in 2022. CS is in some senior high schools (less than 3%), very few junior high, and almost zero in primary school. “Similarly, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry in Japan has recently announced it will make computer programming a compulsory subject at primary schools as of 2020, followed by middle schools in 2021 and high schools in 2022. Programming is defined as creating software programs that work in the way intended by programmers [78].” | Coding will be mandatory in Japan's primary schools from 2020 http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Malaysia | Starting early 2017, Computational Thinking has been integrated into all subjects in primary schools, and coding is also taught as part of this effort. At secondary school level, Computer Science is offered as an elective subject in every high school. Coding will be added to the syllabuses of national schools starting next year (reported in July 2016). It will be taught in computer science classes, and incorporated into math and science classes, starting in standard three. The program has been piloted in schools since last school year. Full details will be announced in August 2016. | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Pakistan | “under the Early Age Programming (EAP) initiative launched by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa IT Board (KPITB) in collaboration with the Elementary and Secondary Education Department...15,000 students will be selected [to be trained in software programming] from 300 government schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” “The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Islamabad has approved new subject of computer science for SSC (Secondary school certificate) 9th and 10th for coming session of 2017. The implementation of computer science for grade 9th is due to keeping view on changing text in 2009. In 9TH grade computer science subject syllabus topics like, basic computer, initial operating system, office auto mission, data communication, computer network and computer security & ethics are included.” These initiatives seem to be regional instead of national. | https://www.dawn.com/news/1383690 | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Qatar | Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) and the Jassim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the Hamad bin Jassim Center for K-12 Computer Science Education and commitment funding of 4 million QAR. The center will promote computer science education in schools throughout Qatar. | Government pronouncement | ||
Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia has mandated teaching computer programming in all schools | Challenges of Computer Science and IT in Teaching-Learning in Saudi Arabia | Government pronouncement | |
Singapore | Starting in 2020, all upper primary pupils will have coding classes as part of the Code For Fun (CFF) initiative. Conducted by the Education Ministry and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the 10-hour enrichment programme will be piloted in 2019 at some schools before being rolled out to all primary schools by 2020. Everyone in Singapore (early learning) will be exposed to Kibo “Singapore's aim to be a Smart Nation has prompted 19 secondary schools to offer programming as part of a new Ordinary Level subject called Computing. This will start in 2017 at the Secondary 3 level and will replace the existing Computer Studies subject offered by 12 secondary schools. The move puts into action a call made by Singapore’s Prime Minister in 2015, when he launched the Smart Nation initiative, for children to be exposed to programming from a young age. The new subject will focus on programming, algorithms, data management and computer architecture [76].” | (Need source) http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
South Korea | Korea's president announced mandatory CS teaching in grades K-12, and is now moving towards implementation. The link summarizes Korean education policy change mandating software education in primary and middle schools. (July 2014 there was a 2-hour software-centric society strategy forum led by President Park Keun Hye.) The major bottleneck is the lack of supply of qualified teachers and the lack of people leading this societal change. “The South Korea Software Education program, currently in its pilot phase, is focused on developing CT, coding skills, and creative expression through software. It is due to be rolled out at all levels of education: primary, secondary and university. Primary and lower secondary will face the most dramatic change because the new programme will be mandatory at these levels beginning in 2018. Training for primary teachers is especially critical to the success of this policy since elementary school teachers teach all subjects and there are no separate IT/computer teachers. By 2018, 60,000 elementary school teachers (30% of the total) will receive specialized training in software education, and 6,000 of that trainee population will receive in-depth training. In addition, 1,800 middle school teachers who are certified to teach IT/computing will receive additional training on software education [77].” | http://www1.president.go.kr/news/newsList.php?srh%5Bview_mode%5D=detail&srh%5Bseq%5D=6675 http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
United Arab Emirates | Computer Science First initiative launched Nov 2015 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council, enabling 250,000 students to learn CS in the following two years. UAE will be teaching computer science to 1 million students: “The three-part approach of the initiative begins with Arab students and tutors registering on the new website, ArabCoders.ae, managed by the Dubai Future Foundation and supported by Udacity, an educational organisation that provides online courses, as well as Middle East recruitment website Bayt.com.” | UAE to train one million young Arab coders in the language of the future http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=05fd91cd-45d8-4026-9fde-ec7ab5fa2075 | Government pronouncement | |
Vietnam | Vietnam teaches CS to all students starting in second grade but this is limited to a few public schools. There is no national education policy with corresponding implementation. | |||
Africa | ||||
Zimbabwe | Computer science is one of 3 optional subjects that Ordinary Level students can sit for. | Government pronouncement | ||
Nigeria | Code Lagos aims to make coding education available to every student in the state of Lagos. “The Lagos State Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology, has launched the first state-sanctioned computer programming education framework with clearly stated learning outcomes. The new coding education framework will provide basic- to proficiency-level competence in Computer Science, Information technology and digital literacy...Classes will be set up at Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Institutions. These centers will be facilitated by experienced tutors to deliver the coding education framework in a regular schedule each academic session.” “Although the standard curriculum in Nigeria includes computer science or ICT from elementary school on, most public schools are unable to afford adequate equipment or instruction. Students often face a range of shortcomings that impede their computer skills, including lack of furniture in classrooms, inadequate instruction materials, lack of experienced and competent teachers, poorly-equipped computer labs, and dilapidated school buildings.” (DEVEX) | Education Policies | ||
South Africa | In his 2019 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that his government was introducing subjects like coding and data analytics at the primary school level in an effort to prepare young people for the jobs of the future. “Coding as a subject will be piloted at 1,000 schools across five provinces starting in the 2020 school year.” (Apr 2019) | Coding in South African schools what needs to happen to make it work | Government pronouncement | |
Australia | ||||
Australia | “In South Australia, the Labor party has promised to invest $6.7 million in a program to train teachers in coding. It will be then be taught along with entrepreneurship to all 114,000 of the state’s public primary school students.” (Mar 2018) Coding/CS is included in a new area of the national curriculum for primary school called “Digital Technologies”- coding in Year 5 and on, and Programming in Year 7 and on. Several states are already committed and working on implementation from 2016 (VIC, SA, QLD, TAS, WA). CS is taught in some schools in senior high schools (need source). “Computing is a specialized learning area in the new Australian Curriculum launched in 2015. In this curriculum, Digital Technologies is addressed as a whole discipline (compulsory in K-10), where the actions and interactions of humans and computers is of as much importance as the specific knowledge and skills required to think computationally [69]. Another subject, Design and Technologies, complements instruction on the topic. Both subjects provide opportunities for students to create solutions, develop a range of thinking skills (including systems thinking, design thinking and CT), learn how to manage projects, and consider how solutions that are created now will be used in the future [70]. The curriculum is mainly centred on problem solving and algorithms.” | Australian Curriculum - Digital Technologies https://www.innovationaus.com/2018/02/Coding-for-kids-South-Australia http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/technologies/rationale http://www.codefuture.org/blog/its-official-coding-in-australian-schools/ http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf Critical OpEd with various good links | Education Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
New Zealand | ||||
New Zealand | National assessment standards for levels 1, 2 and 3 (the last three years of high school for most students) include computer science. Currently, a new national curriculum is being developed that will include computer science for years 1-10 of school. A few schools will trial the curriculum in 2017, it will be fully available in 2018, and it will be mandatory in 2020. All students will learn how to program computers before they finish primary school. June 2017: The government released a draft digital technologies curriculum (see link) for teaching children to both use and create digital technologies. Education Minister Nikki Kaye said the government would spend $40M on resources and training for the new content ($24M on training for teachers). “In July 2016, the Education Minister of New Zealand announced that digital technologies will be fully integrated into The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (national curriculum for Māori-medium) from 2018 [72]. Digital technologies will be included as a part of the existing Technology area of the national curriculum for grades 1-13. They will follow six themes: algorithms; data representation; digital applications; digital devices and infrastructure; humans and computers; programming.” | http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/333999/kids-to-learn-how-to-code-before-high-school http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/assessment/search.do?query=Digital+Technologies&view=all&level=01 http://csfieldguide.org.nz/en/curriculum-guides/ncea/index.html http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/Articles/Article.aspx?ArticleId=9382 http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/333999/kids-to-learn-how-to-code-before-high-school | Education policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Europe General information on Informatics Education in Europe: http://www.informatics-europe.org/news/382-informatics-education-in-europe-are-we-on-the-same-boat.html Developing Computational Thinking in Compulsory Education - Europe | ||||
Albania | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |||
Austria | “In Austria, the development of curricula for secondary schools in the area of Informatics includes CT-related concepts such as modelling and abstraction and takes problem solving as its central aim. Students are expected to develop an understanding of the theoretical foundations and get to know the basic principles of machines, algorithms and programs [1, 2]. “ | Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Belgium | Educational policies | |||
Bulgaria | Coding is part of the curriculum; has teacher training in coding. | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Cyprus | “Computer programming and coding are part of the computer science curriculum in Cyprus [5, 6, 7]. As of 2001-2003, lower secondary students have been introduced to algorithmic thinking and programming, which is compulsory for students aged 13-16. There is no distinct computer science subject in the primary school curriculum, but computers support other learning.” Coding is part of the curriculum; offers a course dedicated to coding; has teacher training in coding. | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Czech Republic | “In the Czech Republic, the Strategy of Digital Education until 2020 [8] sets out key priorities for initiating changes to the methods and forms of the Czech education system, as well as to its objectives. In this document, “developing CT among students” is one of the three priority objectives on which the first interventions will focus. Hence, CT is foreseen as a key digital competence all students need for their future lives, their professional careers, and for understanding the world around them. The curricular documents for both primary and secondary school education are due for release by the end of 2017; initial measures are to be piloted in selected schools from the 2018–2019 school year and are likely to be extended to all schools in 2020 [9]” Coding is part of the curriculum | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Croatia | “The curriculum reform started in February 2015 in Croatia as one measure of the Strategy for education, science and technology is expected to affect all levels of education, all subjects, cross-curricular topics and frameworks for assessment, special education and gifted education [4]. Within the new national curriculum, Informatics becomes an elective subject in all grades of compulsory education (previously addressed in grades 5-8) and an obligatory subject for two years in upper secondary education (Gymnasium). The new curriculum for Informatics builds on Croatia’s long tradition in computer science and is organized in four domains, one of which is CT and programming (along with Information and digital technologies, Digital literacy and communication, and e-society). Experimental implementation of the new curriculum starts in the 2016/17 school year” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies | |
Denmark | Coding is part of the curriculum. Though it has been added as a suggestion in math and physics, teachers have only in very little extent been trained. All efforts to teach kids coding is being held outside school. Only between 5-10% of schools offer CS. Effective routes would be the Ministry of Education, teacher training and as a subject in teacher college. “In Denmark, CT is not a separate topic in K-9, but IT and Media is integrated across subjects in primary and lower secondary education. IT and Media includes skills such as problem-solving and logical thinking, but not all key CT characterization. It is planned to integrate Informatics as a compulsory subject, depending on school curricula, in grades 10-12 by 2017.” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Estonia | Estonia teaches CS to all students, starting in FIRST grade. Coding is part of the curriculum. | http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/04/estonia-code-academy/ and many other similar articles | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Finland | In 2016, programming and computer science will be a mandatory part of school curricula, beginning in primary school. In the year 2016 the change involves classes 1-6. In the year 2017 it involves classes 1-7, 2018 classes 1-8 and 2019 classes 1-9 (which is the whole comprehensive school in Finland). Classes 1-2 will not use computers at all when learning programming. Programming is taught using traditional games and play. Classes 3-6 learn programming using a graphical coding environment. They also use robotics and programming when designing crafts. Classes 7-9 program using one or more real programming language. There is a mentioning in the National Core Curriculum that classes 7-9 should also use embedded systems when designing crafts. [Source: Anecdotal] | http://legroup.aalto.fi/2015/11/coding-in-school-finland-takes-lead-in-europe/ | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
France | “In 2015, the guidance and programming law no. 2013-595 of July 8th, 2013 for restructuring schools in France made provision for numerous reforms starting September 2016. In this context, the new common core, Socle commun de connaissances et de compétences [18], establishes proficiency benchmarks for all students completing the compulsory school cycle in France. The key concept of “algorithmic thinking” figures among the different languages foreseen in the guidelines, as students are expected to “know about basic principles of algorithms and coding, they use simple programming languages”. Building on this document, the Projet de programmes pour les cycles 2, 3 et 4 introduces digital literacy in primary and secondary schools, and foresees the teaching of algorithmic and programming concepts as a means “to provide learners with a new language for thinking and communicating” [19].” “In France, the Class’Code13 teacher training project led by the SIF (Société Informatique de France) and managed by INRIA (the French national institute for computer science and applied mathematics), estimates that 300,000 teachers will be involved in professional development on CT. “ | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Germany | Parliament is considering making computer science compulsory. Potentially requires in 8th grade. | http://associationsnow.com/2015/09/compulsory-computer-science-schools-germanys-considering/ (Need source for 8th gr.) | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Greece | Coding is part of the curriculum; offers a course dedicated to coding; compulsory coding lessons from primary school onwards. “Similarly, Greece is also currently planning to include CT in primary and secondary education curricula. A recent report, prepared by the Committee of Continuous Educational Affairs of the Greek Parliament and published in May 2016, suggests including CT in the curriculum as a short-term priority [23]. It also suggests implementation from the first year of primary to final year of secondary school, although the actual scope of the implementation has not yet been decided.” | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability | ||
Hungary | “The National Core Curriculum of Hungary (2012) includes algorithmic thinking as a competence for primary and secondary education inside Information Technology. Informatics is a compulsory subject from grades 6 to 12, with the goal of teaching logical and algorithmic thinking, and problem solving [24, 25, 26]. In October 2016, the Government adopted the Digital Education Strategy [27], which includes goals regarding the “digitalization” of all educational sectors, including primary, secondary, higher, vocational and adult education, mainly to be reached by the end of 2018. The current draft suggests concrete targets regarding the integration of Computational Thinking/ programming into school education, but final decisions are yet to be taken. For instance, the Strategy indicates the ability to teach programming among the requirements for Math and Science initial teacher education programmes. Furthermore, it also suggests to revise the curriculum of the Informatics subject including coding/programming starting from 3rd grade on, as an individual subject. “ | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Ireland | By 2019, all second-level students will be required to study computer science as a subject in the Leaving Certificate Examinations. (40 schools were selected in Jan ‘18 to offer CS as a Leaving Certificate subject) Ireland is allocating 210M Euro for a national Digital Strategy for Schools. Coding will be taught to all children in all primary schools and Computer Science will be a subject offered as an option to all students at post-primary level. Computer science will be fast-tracked as a new leaving certificate subject from September next year (2017) There is a network of Education Centres throughout the country (21 full time, 9 part time). The principal activity of Education Centres is to organise the local delivery of national programmes of teacher professional development on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. Centres also organize a varied local programme of activities for teachers, school management, and parents in response to demand. Education Centres are statutory bodies. The existence of such a network provides an ideal vehicle for a cascade model of professional development for the education community. “The Ministry of Education and Skills in Ireland has defined a Digital Strategy for Schools [28], which provides a rationale and a Government action plan for integrating ICT into teaching, learning and assessment practices in schools over the next five years. The strategy calls for a wider definition of digital literacy for students, one which would include “coding and programming in the Irish primary and post-primary curriculum so that every learner has an opportunity to learn skills such as CT, logic, critical thinking and strategic thinking to solve problems” ([28], p. 22). The Irish Computer Society (ICS) developed two computing curriculum modules, Digital Media and Computational Thinking, which were piloted in 45 Irish schools between September 2012 and May 2013. Building on the pilot’s success, the curriculum was expanded to four modules, which are freely available to schools [29].” | http://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2017-Press-Releases/PR17-06-19.html http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1020209.shtml (Need source) http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational Policies | |
Israel | “Israel has a long tradition in Computer Science education. Although CS is offered as an elective subject in most of high schools, students in mainstream public education are instructed in digital and computer literacy as a major medium and methodology contributing to learning in all subjects [31]. The Ministry of Education in Israel has a well-organised and detailed strategy for the study of Computer Science in high schools. This regards CS both as a stand-alone subject and the promotion of digital and computer literacy as a priority across all subject areas [30, 31]. The curriculum consists of both mandatory and elective modules. The Introduction to CS, for instance, emphasizes the fundamentals of algorithmic thinking. The intention of the CS course in not to train students to become programmers but rather to introduce learners to logical and algorithmic thinking and to expose them to different development environments at an early stage [32]. By offering a range of mandatory and elective modules, the curriculum allows all students to acquire the foundations of CS, while providing more time and content for those who have a more specific interest in CS [33]. In recent years, a new program was introduced for middle schools (grades 7-9) and a program to teach CS in primary school (grades 4-6) started this year school year (2016-2017).” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Italy | The implementation plan for the national digital learning program (Piano Nazionale Scuola Digitale - Digital School National Plan), includes the goal of teaching 10 yearly hours of computational thinking to every student in primary school (action #17, p. 81 of the pdf downloadable from the link). A recent reform (called “La Buona Scuola”) has introduced the requirement to educate students in all schools to “computational thinking” and to “digital competencies”. The implementation is due to start in the scholastic year 2015/16. Coding is part of the official curriculum only for some secondary schools. Teachers teaching this subject are trained in coding. The Ministry of Education, University and Research establish the official curricula for digital literacy and informatics " in Italy the MOE Digital School Plan foresees training for 157,000 teachers, from March 2016 to December 2017, through blended training, workshops, online training, and cascade training” | http://www.istruzione.it/scuola_digitale/index.html http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Latvia | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability | |||
Lithuania | Coding is part of the curriculum; offers a course dedicated to coding; has teacher training in coding. “In Lithuania CT is integrated in the Information Technology subject, which is compulsory in lower secondary schools (grade 5-10). IT includes five knowledge areas: information; digital technologies; algorithms and programming; virtual communication; security, ethics and legal principles. At the upper secondary level (grade 11-12), IT is an elective subject offered in basic and advanced modes. The advanced course includes electronic publishing, database design and management, and programming [36].” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Malta | “In Malta, the government is setting out a vision to transform the country into one that will prosper as a digitally-enabled nation in all sectors of society. This is also reflected in the National Curriculum Framework of Malta published in 2012 [37]. In this frame, the document entitled Computing as a Core Entitlement Framework [38], jointly developed by the Department of eLearning and the Department Curriculum – DQSE, outlines a practical strategy on how to introduce computing as a core entitlement for all students; this encompasses requirements for Digital Literacy, other literacies, as well as coding from early years. This document explicitly supports and guides the introduction of CT and problem-solving skills from kindergarten all the way to Year 11. In Malta, part of the learning outcomes framework will be implemented in 2017.” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Netherlands | Coding is not yet part of the curriculum, but a lot of efforts are made to get it in there as soon as possible. In the meantime, a lot of efforts are made to get coding into schools via school districts- this is the faster route. School districts are aware of the importance, but in order to make real impact it should be mandatory and thus come via the Ministry of education. They are currently working to add it to the curriculum via a fast track. Coding is taught in about 5% of schools. -The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs said that schools are required to teach ‘nature and technology’ but that it is up to schools to determine the curriculum. The National Technology Pact recommends that all primary schools include science and technology (see source). “In the Netherlands, a wide-scale debate is presently underway about including CT in the Information literacy subject, which is already part of the core curricula [63, 64]. In 2012, The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) published a report on Digital Literacy in Secondary Education containing a number of recommendations on digital literacy and CS. One of these suggestions is for CT to play a central role in a new digital literacy course and in a revised CS course. As Joke Voogt pointed out during the expert interviews for this study, the Netherlands currently has an optional subject in upper-secondary school called Informatics but this is not offered in lower-secondary and primary education. Dutch schools exercise a fair degree of autonomy and some have acted independently in this direction, particularly by introducing programming, including at primary level. “ | http://newtechkids.com/2015/12/computer-science-education-ramping-up/ http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
North Macedonia | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |||
Norway | “In Norway, a special expert group evaluating the role of technology in primary and secondary education reported to the Norwegian Directorate in September 2016. The report [39] recommends a reform of the curriculum to include technology and programming (including CT) as compulsory subjects. There are plans on reforming the curriculum, but the outcome of the expert group’s recommendation is uncertain, as the debate on whether to include programming and CT in compulsory education is still ongoing. Norway has started piloting the introduction of programming as an elective subject in 143 lower secondary schools, but no certain plans for compulsory education.” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Poland | The Council for Informatization of Education, the Ministry of National Education, has proposed revising the Polish National Curriculum so that computer science education will be taught in all levels K-12. “In turn, Poland counts on a long tradition of CS and informatics education, which has been part of school curricula for the last 30 years [41]. The curriculum followed until June 2016 features stand-alone informatics subjects, which were introduced to primary (grades 1-3) and middle schools in 2008, as well as to primary (grades 4-6) and high schools in 2012. Although the curriculum already included aspects of algorithmic thinking and informatics, a new unified Computer Science (Informatics) curriculum is to be tested from September 2016 and implemented in all schools providing compulsory education from September 2017. This new curriculum is in some parts an extension of the previous one, seeking to unifying aims at the different levels; applying a more homogenous terminology; and repositioning activities under the Computer Science umbrella [40]. The main goal of this new curriculum is to motivate students to apply CT (myślenie komputacyjne) and to engage in solving problems in various school subjects.” | http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-25396-1_13 http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Portugal | Coding is part of the curriculum; has teacher training in coding. “CT (pensamento computacional) is mentioned among the learning outcomes (metas curriculares) for students at lower secondary level (grades 7 and 8). In 2015-2016, the Ministry of Education (ME) launched a pilot project for primary schools, entitled Introduction to Programming in the 1st cycle of basic education [43], involving 27,000 students in the 3rd and 4th years of schooling and about 670 teachers. The pilot focused on two main themes: Computational Thinking and Programming languages. The initiative has been extended to the 2016/2017 school year expecting to involve about 56.000 students and about 1.600 teachers.” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Romania | Computer Science has been included in the Romanian K-8 curriculum as mandatory, starting September 2017. Among the specified programs are the Code Studio courses, the Hour of Code event and also all the platforms that were promoted with the event. Adfaber.org created the Kids in Tech national program to engage and support the Romanian teachers and students in their educational development. In over 250 Computer Science clubs from schools all across the country, over 3000 student members learn to code for free, and the number is growing each week. | http://adfaber.org/2017/07/03/adfabers-projects-in-romanian-curriculum/ http://www.ise.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Informatica-si-TIC.pdf | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Russia | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |||
Serbia | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |||
Slovakia | “In Slovakia, Informatics is currently a mandatory subject at all level of compulsory education. It was introduced at upper secondary level in 1985, at lower secondary in 2005, and at primary in 2008. Programming has always been one of the key components of this subject 49, 50].” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Slovenia | Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |||
Spain | Spain does not offer CS education, but only optional ICT subjects in high school grades 10th-12th. ICT is focused on using computer programs, and offers some coding in the last year of these courses. The Ministry of Education would be the best route for expanding CS. | https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2015/01/03/pdfs/BOE-A-2015-37.pdf | ||
Sweden | The government of Sweden has decided to introduce computer science in school subjects. The decision was publically announced last Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Gustav Fridolin. Swedish schools are welcome to start with the new curriculum changes this autumn, from kindergarten all the way to high school. Schools have a deadline to have implemented the curriculum changes no later than autumn 2018, but are welcome to start already 2017. Changes to curriculum include technology, including programming, for all students from their first year in primary in school. Changes will be in effect by July 2018. “in Sweden the Government has recently requested the Swedish National Agency for Education to come up with suggestions for changing the national curricula, including the strengthening of the digital competence and programming. A proposal is expected by summer 2016 [60].” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf | Government pronouncement | |
Switzerland | Computer science is compulsory in 21 catons (the German speaking provinces, ~70% of the country). For the K-12 domain, there is a common competence-oriented curriculum with the obligatory subject of “media and informatics“ for each language region. In Gymnasium, computer science becomes a compulsory subject. | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | ||
Turkey | “CT is part of the new national curriculum for primary and secondary schools in Turkey as well. Coding is also included (using block-based programming, text-based programming and robots).” July 2017: Ministry of Education in Turkey announced the new curriculum for primary school and code.org is included to computer science lessons for 5th and 6th classes today. | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf http://www.temjournal.com/content/64/TemJournalNovember2017_783_791.pdf | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Ukraine | Educational Policies | |||
United Kingdom | UK has mandated coding for every student in both primary and secondary (since Sept 2014), but it's not uniformly implemented. The Ministry of Education would be the best route for expanding CS- it is a top-down approach in the UK. England has teacher training in coding. “Computing At School (CAS) proposes an innovative approach to support the new computing curriculum in England: experienced teachers become CAS Master Teachers, who work with around 40 teachers in their local community. These CAS Master Teachers receive a 5-10 days training course over six months. There are currently over 350 Master Teachers, with the goal of recruiting 600 by 2018.” Scotland’s “PLAN C” (Professional Learning and Networking for Computing) provides £200,000 per year for two years for professional development for teachers of computer science. “In 2013, the government of Scotland enacted the new national Curriculum for Excellence, which introduced aspects of CT within the subject entitled “Computing Science” taught in secondary schools (secondary grades 3, 4, 5, 6) [46]. In September 2015, the Scottish Government began a four-month consultation to collect input for the development of a comprehensive approach to digital learning and teaching. The resulting document, a Digital Learning and Teaching Strategy for Scotland, was published in September 2016. Responses to the consultation from educational stakeholders call for the inclusion of CT at primary level [48].” “A new curriculum for Wales is currently under development, involving education professionals across the country [65, 66]. The new curriculum will have more emphasis on equipping students in compulsory education for life and it is expected to be enacted in schools by September 2018. The first element of the new curriculum to be developed is the Digital Competence Framework. This has four strands, one of which is named Data and computational thinking and includes the elements “Problem solving and modelling” and “Data and information literacy” [67]. From September 2016, schools are familiarizing themselves with the framework, formulating their strategic vision for cross-curricular digital competence and considering how to translate this into practice.” “The UK announced £100 million to establish the National Centre for Computing and train 8,000 extra computer science teachers.” | http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC104188/jrc104188_computhinkreport.pdf https://schoolsweek.co.uk/budget-2017-100m-national-centre-for-computing-to-train-8000-new-teachers/ | Educational Policies Courses, curriculum availability Teacher training | |
Summary as of 8/20/17:
- Just this summer, Ireland announced €210M to include computer science in every school, and Canada announced a $50M plan to expand computer science.
- Many countries are rolling out computer science or coding for all students in primary school, including Australia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
- Japan will offer computer programming for all students in primary, middle, and high schools by 2022. Malaysia is also integrating computer science to be taught to every primary school student, and offered as an elective in every high school. Other countries that will teach computer science in all schools include Argentina, Ireland, South Korea, and Sweden.
- Israel has prioritized computer science education with both mandatory and elective curriculum. Turkey recently developed a new national curriculum for both primary and secondary schools. In many other countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Croatia, France, India, Poland, Portugal, and Slovakia, computer science or coding is part of the curriculum.
- The United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Pakistan, Nigeria, Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom are expanding computer science through commitments to curriculum and teacher training.
- The UK announced £100 million to establish the National Centre for Computing and train 8,000 extra computer science teachers.
Countries with National Efforts (last updated March 12, 2018)
