1 Introduction

Technology permeates nearly every part of our students’ lives; particularly after COVID-19, which demonstrated the need for all students to be technologically literate and equipped with the language of the age in order to meet future needs and be prepared for any future crises. Recent attention has focused on considering programming as essential as reading, writing, and arithmetic to young students. However, students still face challenges in learning programming in schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Interview results with ICT teachers showed that UAE schools consider programming as a subsidiary skill and basically deal with information and computer technology (ICT) subjects as an activity that can be dropped or ignored at any time. This could be due to time constraints in schools or a preference for other courses such as math and science.

The UAE represents an interesting case study to sample as there has been considerable investment in digital education in the past few years—including pre-pandemic; a viable infrastructure; a divers and multicultural population; and governmental support and drive for development. Programming education is an emerging field in the UAE, with the government and other stakeholders showing increasing interest in promoting computer science education at all levels. However, the implementation of programming education in primary schools is still in its early stages, and there is a lack of research in this area. This paper will therefore have a direct impact to literature and the development of effective policies and interventions by studying the barriers to programming education in UAE primary schools. Moreover, the UAE has a unique socio-economic and cultural context that may influence the implementation and effectiveness of programming education initiatives. For example, the UAE has a high percentage of expatriate students, and the language barriers may affect their learning outcomes. Additionally, the country has a rapidly growing economy with a high demand for digital skills, which could increase the relevance and impact of programming education in the long run. Reviewing the UAE as a case study can provide insights that will be of direct relevance to the wider educational community. While this is a valid approach, there are of course limitations.

Nowadays, primary students become computer and internet literate before they learn how to read and write. However, they lack an understanding of how computer technology works [12]. This has led to the creation of a generation that is passively consuming technology. Therefore, there is a need for UAE educational policies to revitalise the educational system by widely integrating programming into the primary school curriculum and raising awareness of its benefits and potential applications.

Considerable research has been conducted on how to implement ICT in education; the integration of computers and laptops into the classroom; teaching programming to middle and high school students, etc. However, there is a noticeable gap in research on the impact of programming on primary students that affects their performance, thinking, and future skills [14, 44, 24]. It is not clear yet why some students lack an interest in learning programming and perceive it as a complex skill that they cannot absorb like other subjects. This indicates a need to investigate the issues of programming education that exist in many of the UAE primary schools. Therefore, the current study intends to fill the literature gap and contribute to the educational knowledge base.

The objective of the study is to explore the perceptions of ICT teachers on programming education in UAE primary schools. ICT teachers in the UAE are the teachers who teach primary students the programming curriculum, and as such, are the key stakeholders in the implementation and effectiveness of programming education, and their views and experiences can inform policy and practice in this area. The paper employs a qualitative methodology to explore the subjective experiences and perspectives of ICT teachers. Qualitative methods allow us to uncover the rich and diverse perceptions of teachers on programming education and to understand the contextual factors that influence their views.

2 Study purpose and questions

The aim of this study is to identify the barriers preventing the proper implementation of programming education in UAE primary schools. The study aims to investigate the perspectives of the ICT teachers towards programming education, the attitudes of the primary students towards it. The paper focuses on the perceptions of teachers, rather than on the objective measures of student performance. The aim of the paper is to better understand the perspectives of ICT teachers on the impact of programming education on students' academic performance and different aspects such as problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking. To this end, the study is driven by attempts to answer the following research questions:

  • What are the perceptions of ICT teachers on the importance and relevance of programming education in UAE primary schools?

  • How do ICT teachers perceive the impact of programming education on students' academic performance?

  • What challenges do ICT teachers experience in teaching programming to primary students?

This paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of programming education in promoting 21st-century skills among primary school students in the UAE and informs the development of effective policies and interventions.

3 Literature review

Programming is the ability of a person to successfully apply and cultivate computational thinking capabilities [30]. There is a large volume of published studies referring to programming as coding. However, [38] emphasise that programming is not limited to code. Coding was regarded as one of the subtasks of programming; in addition to writing and maintaining code, it also entailed significant computational and problem-solving skills. There are numerous definitions of computational thinking in the literature, but there is a consensus among researchers that computational thinking is a mental process that employs abstraction, generalisation, decomposition, algorithmic reasoning, and debugging [45].

There are two different forms of programming: text-based and block-based coding. The literature makes use of a variety of definitions to distinguish between them [31]. Define text-based coding as that type of programming that is based on texts written using a keyboard and saved as text files, whereas block-based programming is based on images. In recent years, there has been a significant amount of literature referring to block-based coding as visual and graphical-based coding. It is appropriate for primary and junior students [25] and can be solved simply by dragging and dropping the blocks to make logical sequences [6].

4 Theoretical framework

In order to more fully understand the perceptions and associated value and challenges of programming in primary schools, it is essential to examine the connection between the participants (teachers and students); the tools used (programming tools); and the learning implications and impact on the students. To this end, this paper uses two central theoretical models to explore the perception of technology use and learning styles within the study population.

The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by [10] is the most intriguing model in relation to the purpose of the study. TAM concentrates on two primary factors that influence an individual's propensity to accept new technology: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Students who view coding as being excessively difficult to learn are unlikely to learn it. In contrast, students will be more likely to learn and acquire coding if they perceive its usefulness and easiness and view it as giving necessary future abilities and being simple to grasp. According to [18], students may lack interest, confidence, and objectives [19] in programming learning due to the misconception that programming requires complex concepts. TAM is of direct value to this paper as an understanding of the factors that influence the acceptance and adoption of technology among students and ICT teachers is essential in identifying the barriers and challenges to programming education in UAE primary schools. Other important aspects of the TAM model include attitudes toward utilisation, which can be defined as the user's desire to use the technology. The mix of perceived usefulness and actual utilisation predicts the attitude toward use (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4).

Fig. 1
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Technology Acceptance Model [10]

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Fig. 2
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Piaget’s theory of cognitive development [32]

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Fig. 3
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Demographic Data of teachers

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Fig. 4
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Development of tree codes and subcodes in NVivo

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The study incorporates the TAM framework in order to explore the perceptions and experiences of ICT teachers regarding programming education and the barriers to its implementation in primary schools in the UAE. In this regard, the TAM framework can provide valuable insights into the factors that influence the acceptance and adoption of programming education.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development [32] emphasizes the importance of understanding how children learn and develop cognitive skills over time, which is highly relevant to the development of new cognitive skills required for programming, such as problem-solving and computational thinking. This study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of ICT teachers regarding programming education and the barriers to its implementation in primary schools in the UAE. The incorporation of Piaget's theory provides valuable insights into the cognitive challenges and milestones that students must reach in order to be successful in programming, and ultimately help to inform the development of effective pedagogical approaches to teaching programming.

According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development, children go through a succession of stages in their mental growth. From infancy until puberty, children go through four distinct stages of cerebral development. Each stage is distinguished by changes in how children see and relate to the people and objects in their surroundings.

Primary school students (aged 6–11) can be categorised mostly under the concrete operational stages. They can engage in symbolic play and learn to manipulate symbols; they do not comprehend concrete reasoning and struggle with logic and mental transformation of knowledge. They are only capable of abstract and logical thinking once they have reached the formal operational stage, in which children begin to organise their thoughts, apply logical thinking skills, and rely less on direct physical representations of concepts [34]. Thus, when developing a programming curriculum for younger students, both curriculum developers and teachers should consider the process of children's cognitive development.

The spread of computing and its advanced technology, especially those that are connected to school education, necessitates academics to build new theoretical frameworks to explain the proliferation, its measurement, deployment, and integration into the educational and cultural setting.

5 The importance of programming

5.1 Programming impacts on students’ academic development

Learning programming promotes the students’ computational thinking skills [17]. Computational thinking skills are among the key skills that students should have in the twenty-first century [39, 1]. In another study by [12], who observed computer programming training, they discovered that computer programming had a significant impact.

Despite the general consensus that exists regarding programming as a core skill that improves students' academic achievement, some researchers argue that students still face difficulty in acquiring specific topics in it [3], resulting from insufficient self-efficacy for the majority of students [46]. Research concludes that programming confidence increases with practise (e.g., [28, 15, 42] and suggests that the programming learning environment should be improved and consider Piaget theory in developing the content.

5.2 Programming impacts on students’ future achievement

Numerous studies have emphasised the significance of coding as a core competence in the twenty-first century [12, 4, 16, 36, 37, 22]. Programming education is tightly linked to a variety of abilities that students must learn for their future, including creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving [7]. According to [30], these skills prepare students to cope with the learning evolution and information society.

As far as jobs are concerned, contributions from research have attempted to relate students' efficiency in programming to obtaining good jobs [47]. They argue that experience gained at an early age influences future employment selection; therefore, it is critical to begin computer science education in primary schools [29]. However, little research has been conducted to determine how primary school students benefit from computer education.

5.3 Block-based coding for younger students

Block-based coding can be used to solve problems, and it allows coding to be taught in primary schools. One of the most popular applications for the block programming language used by primary schools is Scratch, which was created by MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten group [5]. Despite the widespread and efficacy of scratch use in primary students’ environments, [20] draw our attention to examine alternative programming languages (apart from Scratch) in order to provide some variety to programming instruction. He also suggests using educational robotics to introduce the basics of programming concepts to preschool-aged children.

Notwithstanding the many advantages of block-based coding for youngsters that have been mentioned in prior studies (e.g., [40, 7], many authors are doubtful about their long-term benefits [23]. Stated that "the nature of block-based programming language has limited the concepts that can be introduced to student", additionally [43] claims that the absence of syntax in graphical programming languages encourages undesirable practises such as incomprehensible naming, lengthy scripts, and redundant or unneeded code. Notwithstanding, these claims were denied by some empirical studies conducted among students who learned block-based coding and then solved the same activities in text-based coding and revealed that students whose first language was graphic did better than those whose first language was textual [6]. Importantly, the majority of students said their prior expertise with block-based programming aided them in designing programmes in a text-based environment [21, 13]. Also questioned its impact on problem solving skills and pointed out that there is no considerable difference in the problem-solving skills of students before and after block-based programming courses in primary schools. However, a recent study by [22] emphasized that block-based coding in particular is extremely beneficial for fostering the learning of problem-solving skills.

5.4 Perceptions of teaching programming to young students

Although extensive research has stressed the necessity of programming, few studies exist which investigate this necessity for early-age students [37], and some disagree about the age at which the students should be exposed to programming. Consequently, the generalizability of published studies on this topic is questionable.

In an important study by [8], they concluded that computer programming education for young students is a new emerging field and bringing together the necessary elements to achieve success in this field and the application of information about the method of investigation is critical. They propose that children should be taught how to build computers, programmes, and computer games rather than simply using computers [9]. Holds the view that it is vital for students to master the principles of computing at an early age. Thus, researchers have increasingly recognised the vital necessity of providing sound assessment methods capable of statistically capturing the critical components of programming instruction in the K–12 context, in addition to long-term investigations to determine the most successful teaching approaches in programming [41].

Despite the generally positive perceptions of programming for young students, there are also some noted challenges, such as the complicated thinking abilities required to apply logic principles and solve problems [29], especially when the audience consists of primary school students with weak or no literacy abilities [41]. Hence, traditional teaching methods do not appear to be adequate for assisting students in overcoming these obstacles [11]. Hence, teachers must recognise the need for developing and implementing new teaching and learning approaches that can improve their students' learning experiences [2], such as collaborative work and student-centred teaching approaches [35]. Another element that appears to negatively hinder the proper programming education of primary students is the principals' attitudes towards this skill. In their endeavour to find a solution to this issue, they assert that understanding school administrators' perceptions of programming education is crucial for properly promoting and implementing programming in K–12 education.

6 Methodology

6.1 Research design

This study utilises a qualitative approach to report on ICT teachers’ perceptions of the programming being taught to primary students at UAE schools and the barriers that prevent the proper implementation of programming education.

6.2 Qualitative approach

6.2.1 Interview method selection

The interviewee perspective is one of the most important approaches in qualitative research, and it is the best option for any descriptive or exploratory study because it is an excellent way of getting thorough information on people's perspectives, ideas, and experiences.

The semi-structured interview approach was incorporated in order to collect the teachers' experience and opinions regarding the study issue. This approach was appropriate for the study and supported the researcher's understanding of a phenomenon through open dialogue with participants. Hence, the interview was guided by semi-structured interview protocols which allowed us to ask open-ended questions and follow-up questions based on the participants’ responses. We ensured that the questions were designed to elicit information related to our research objectives.

The researchers utilized both judgmental and convenience sampling methods to recruit participating teachers. Potential participants were identified through professional networks and referrals from within the contextual education sector. Individuals were selected based on their experience teaching computer science in primary schools and their availability and willingness to participate in the study.

Regarding the judgment criteria for selecting participants, the researchers looked for teachers who had at least five years of experience teaching computer science, had a passion for teaching, and were willing to share their experiences and participate in the study. There was an intention to include a diverse range of participants in terms of their age, gender, and teaching experience. Potential participants were contacted via email and phone and provided with a brief overview of the study and the criteria for participation. Participants were asked to confirm their interest and availability to participate. The acceptance rate for participation was approximately 70%. Despite best attempts to diversify, the researchers acknowledge the issue of gender and age distribution in the study and present this as a limitation of the current study.

6.2.2 Sample selection

The sample was determined based on both judgmental and convenience sampling methods to recruit participating teachers. We identified potential participants through professional networks and referrals from our contacts in the education sector. We selected individuals based on their experience teaching computer science in primary schools and their availability and willingness to participate in the study.

The framework of selection can be created using factors found in the literature and practical knowledge of the phenomenon. This is a more methodical strategy that can boost sample credibility by involving a diverse group of participants.

Regarding the judgment criteria for selecting participants, we looked for teachers who had at least five years of experience teaching computer science, had a passion for teaching, and were willing to share their experiences with us. We also aimed to include a diverse range of participants in terms of their age, gender, and teaching experience.

The qualitative component of the study consisted of a convenient sample of participants. The participants were ICT teachers (N = 13) from different schools and Emirates in the UAE. ICT teachers are the most important factors who can be relied upon to get a clear view regarding the purpose of the study and can help in figuring out solutions to overcome the research problem.

For the schools that participated in this study, we selected primary schools from the perspectives of ICT teachers in three types of schools: British, American, and Ministerial. These three types of schools represent a diverse range of educational approaches and curricula. British schools follow the National Curriculum of England, while American schools follow the Common Core State Standards. Ministerial schools, on the other hand, follow the curriculum set by the UAE Ministry of Education. By including these different types of schools, we intended to compare and contrast the barriers faced by ICT teachers in programming education across different educational approaches and curricula. This comparison helps to provide a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced in programming education across the UAE primary school system.

7 Piloting the semi-structured interview

The interview framework was first created as a list of questions that were adopted from the literature and adapted to fit the purpose of the study [33, 26, 27], then validated by sending it to an expert to review and approve. After that, it was piloted to a sample of the population. Piloting interviews are an important part of the research process since they might identify potential problems with the study. It enables the interviewer to steer the conversation toward the research topic and collect the most comprehensive data possible. Pretesting allows a researcher to modify the phrasing or terminology of the question and its instructions. In actuality, this interview format consists of a set of predefined open-ended questions. These questions encourage cooperation and allow the interviewer and interviewee to form a relationship. In addition, additional questions arise from the conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee. Consequently, a semi-structured interview method could provide a profound understanding of the research issue.

8 Qualitative data analysis

Thematic analysis and NVivo software were used to analyse the interview data. The data analysis procedure began with the manual transcription of the interviews. Following the completion of the interview transcriptions, transcripts were distributed to participants for content verification. Participants were also requested to take notes, revise, and add additional information to the transcripts. Transcripts were analysed separately and divided into sections and tables based on themes and ideas before uploading them to NVivo.

Similar concepts and ideas were identified and subsequently arranged thematically. The data was uploaded to NVivo to generate codes from highlighted important phrases. These codes were utilised to identify and capture an intriguing aspect of the data.

9 Data analysis and results

Qualitative results regarding ICT teachers’ perspectives on the programming being taught to the primary students at their school were collected through online interviews via Zoom. 13 participants have been selected for their relevance to the topic at hand, they are from different schools and emirates in the UAE (3 teachers from British schools, 5 from American schools, and 5 from Ministerial schools) were interviewed. The interview time was approximately 30 to 60 min for each teacher.

NVivo was utilised to help with data coding into themes and subcategories. As part of the research design, a preliminary list of codes was created. The most repeated words in the examined documents were then visualized using a query tool.

The researcher merged the responses and identified the frequency of thoughts to comprehend the perception and recognise patterns. The final three themes were as follows:

  • First Theme: Teachers’ Perspectives on the Importance of Programming.

  • Second theme is the challenges that ICT teachers face in programming education.

  • Third Theme: Suggestions for improving programming education.

10 First Theme: teachers’ perspectives towards the importance of programming

The first theme is to look into ICT teachers' perspectives on the value of programming. It consists of three questions. The first question asks teachers if they believe programming is important for all kids. They all agreed that programming is an important ability that all students should acquire. Some of them provided the following grounds to support this importance:

“It is based on logic and helps students solve big problems with small steps in their early stages. Therefore, it helps them make good and reasonable decisions in their future lives.” (Teacher 1).

“It is the language of the future. It helps the students develop their critical thinking skills and opens a wide range of possibilities for them.” (Teacher 11).

“All students should learn it because technology is booming everywhere around us.” (Teacher 7).

“It enhances logical and analytical thinking and prepares them for the AI age.” (Teacher 9).

The second question posed to teachers was whether they were in favour of, or opposed to teaching programming to primary students. This question was unanimously approved by all teachers, and some of them elaborated on the necessity of programming education at the primary level as follows:

“The earlier the students start learning programming, the more they will be able to apply and get used to the concepts. Also, learning to programme early enhances math skills, memory, and complex thinking.” (Teacher 1).

“When young students learn to programme early on, they will regard it as a fundamental skill and will be able to absorb all of the required skills.” (Teacher 10).

Despite unanimity on this topic, a few respondents emphasised the necessity to alter and simplify the curriculum to accommodate the talents and needs of each age group as follows:

“I am in favour of teaching programming to primary students. However, they should begin with simple principles so that the students can readily learn them. Unfortunately, the grade 1 curriculum dives right into the programming tools with little introduction. The programme covers computational and logical thinking, how robots move, and computing theory. In grade three, students begin with Scratch (the opposite should happen).” (Teacher 5).

“Yes, but only if they simplify it and categorise it into steps so that the students can absorb it.” (Teacher 13)

“Yes, but from grade 3 only if the school follows the same curriculum, because the curriculum of a ministerial school is very hard, and students cannot absorb it properly. If they develop a simpler curriculum, I do agree that the students start learning programming in grade 1.” (Teacher 3).

The last question in this theme is: Is programming helping students do better in other subjects?

All of the teachers believe that there is a beneficial relationship between programming and other courses such as math and science. Teacher 7 remarked that the programming minimises their math calculation error rates. Teacher 4 wishes to integrate programming into all subjects. She added that in many sophisticated countries, programming is integrated into all topics. Scratch is one example of a programming language that is used to teach kids English (a block-based programming language). Scratch, for example, allows kids to learn how to create and read a tale (storytelling). The teacher believes that this will be difficult to implement in the UAE because other subject teachers are not equipped to use programming software; thus, all teachers' abilities must be improved in order to integrate programming into all disciplines.

11 Second theme: challenges in programming education

The second theme is to investigate the difficulties that ICT teachers experience when teaching programming to primary children. Because issues vary by school depending on curriculum, implementation, and policy, the researcher will present the findings in three sub-sections based on the school curriculum.

12 British schools

The fifth interview question is to determine whether the curriculum is appropriate for the age and level of understanding of primary students. According to one teacher, the curriculum is appropriate; however, the problem is in school implementation, as follows:

“This curriculum should be taught in a lab because it is supposed to be practical. However, I have to teach it theoretically because the school only has one lab for the whole school (grades 1 to 12). As a result, most of the time, I have to teach it in class.” (Teacher 2).

The other teachers (Teacher 1, Teachers 3–13) expressed hope that the curriculum would be revised because it is inappropriate.

In response to the responses to this question, the following two questions were posed:

  • How do the students feel about programming class?

  • Is the purpose of learning programming evident to your students?

The teachers' responses reveal a common discontent with the students' attitudes in programming class. One teacher blames the parents and the Ministry of Education for their effect on the students' lack of programming enthusiasm. She indicated that:

“Parents underestimate the value of programming. They are requesting a worksheet for their children to memorise without understanding to only answer the exam questions. The mothers' perspectives are influenced by the MOE, which regards ICT as a secondary topic.” (Teacher No. 2).

When teachers were asked if their students recognised the utility and worth of programmes, they responded negatively.

Teacher 2 stated that just 2 out of 30 teachers in each session see programming as useful. However, teacher 6 believes that if this curriculum is taught properly, students will recognise its value because, as she mentioned, students in the UAE are fortunate to be able to interact with technology in a variety of settings, such as shopping malls, exhibits, and so on, allowing them to relate programming to real-life applications.

This theme's final topic seeks to understand how British school leaders approach ICT subjects that involve programming ideas, since, as literature reveals, they play a crucial part in the success of this learning process if they support it. Sadly, the responses were startling. The three school authorities (principal, department heads, and supervisors) treat ICT as a subsidiary subject. The ICT teachers lamented that even teachers of other subjects underestimate their value as ICT teachers because ICT is an unimportant subject from their point of view. Teacher 2 explained:

“To accommodate the Ramadan schedule, my school cut half of my sessions in order to keep the other topics on track.”

Another issue raised by teachers’ answers is that the ICT grade has no bearing on the total grade. Even if the students did not answer any questions on the exam, the teacher must give them at least 80% or higher. The ministry of education has also classified it as category B. The Ministry of Education associates ICT with physical education and the arts. As a result, many students consistently state,

"I don't want to work on this session, and I don't care because you have to give me a decent grade at the end, and it won't influence my overall score." (Teacher 9).

Another point raised by teachers is that when inspections come to the school, they do not enter the ICT teachers because ICT is not part of the inspection requirements.

13 American schools

The teachers indicate that the American curriculum is current and properly mapped to the kids' abilities. However, teacher 8 believes that the curriculum should be streamlined so that kids can understand it. The other teachers recommend focusing on one ability at a time in order to master it.

Most teachers reported that the students enjoy programming class. However, teacher 8 indicated that her kids are uninterested in programming class.

Although there is a strong interest in coding education in American schools, most students are unaware of its significance and utility. Some students love programming classes because they believe it is merely a game. Only one teacher stated that children realise the importance of programming, whereas the rest stated the reverse.

“Unfortunately, even in middle school, 20 to 30 percent of students are interested in and understand the importance of programming. I am constantly asked by grade 4 students why we are studying programming, why we are utilising it, and even by their parents why they are studying it. One mother said she would rather her son study PowerPoint than all of this meaningless programming.” (Teacher 11).

Teacher 7 claims that the boys are knowledgeable about coding, while girls don't have any passion for it. She believes that girls do not understand the purpose of programming. In her opinion, it is because of her parents' influence. Parents in this area believe that programming, IT, and cybersecurity are only for boys.

Concerning the school leaders’ attitude toward the ICT subject, only one teacher stated that it is treated as a secondary subject, but the other teachers emphasised that the school leaders value this subject and participate in numerous competitions to improve the students' programming and technology skills.

14 Ministerial schools

In ministerial schools, students begin learning programming in grade one, exactly like in American schools. In contrast, the rate of satisfaction with the curriculum is not at all satisfactory. Here are some replies from teachers:

“The content of this subject in grades 1 and 2 is about recycling, sustainability, and simple colouring and drawing.” (Teacher 1,10,12).

“The curriculum starts with teaching students the abstract concepts of programming and computational and theoretical logical thinking, which is very difficult for the students to understand.” (Teacher 5).

The students at ministerial schools dislike the programming class, which is to be expected given the teachers’ past remarks about its complexity. They dislike it because they cannot comprehend the sophisticated concepts that are irrelevant to their level of comprehension. Only one teacher reports that the students enjoy programming despite its complexity.

Regarding the question of whether the students perceive the programming usefulness or not, only one teacher indicated that the students perceive the value of programming, while the remaining four totally objected to that.

The last question on this theme is: how do school leaders deal with ICT subjects? Ministerial schools were not better than British schools in terms of principals' interest in programming; they deal with it in the same way of underestimation; they equalise it to PE and art; they allocate their time to other teachers.

“The worst thing is that the school occasionally requests that I leave my session to do another task not related to my position or role, or delegate it to another teacher who teaches math, science, English, or Arabic because they need more time.” (Instructor 12).

The programming is not deemed significant in most schools. Sometimes they take kids during the class to train them in specific dances in preparation for a party or celebration. Unfortunately, this occurs after the supervisor's and principal’s consent.

15 Third Theme: recommendations for enhancing programming education

This theme's purpose is to propose solutions to the obstacles that prevent effectively teaching programming to primary students. The researcher suggested two strategies to check their applicability, and the final question was left open for teachers to add their own suggestions, if any.

The first suggestion is to provide additional teaching outside of school to cover all the missing programming concepts. Eleven teachers vehemently opposed the concept, arguing that parents would not aid or support it, and that it would burden the teacher as much as the pupil. However, teachers 7 and 9 agreed with the following:

“Yes, we can perfectly allocate supplementary instructions to them outside the school and online. It is a good idea, and everyone should be supportive.” (Teacher 7).

  • “After COVID, the school still supports online resources, so we can do that.” (Teacher 9)

The second recommendation is to add a new basic subject called "programming," which would be independent of the ICT subject and would be taught once a week. Most teachers agreed with this advice because they understand the importance of programming and that it requires a set amount of time to cover all of the ideas linked to it.

Although the majority of teachers supported this recommendation, the following two teachers opposed it:

“No, I believe that focusing on programming more and incorporating it into other subjects is adequate.” (Teacher 6)

“I think it would be better if they integrated programming with other subjects. Maybe we need to do so at the middle level.” (Teacher 7)

16 Discussion of the results

This study aims to explore the ICT teachers’ perceptions of the programming and the students’ attitudes toward it and identify the barriers to the proper implementation of programming education in UAE primary schools. The results are discussed in the context of the research questions posed in the presented study. The responses of ICT teachers show that they are aware of the importance of programming and willing to properly teach it to all students from the primary level. However, they admitted that they face some challenges that hurdle them from doing so.

These findings are consistent with the majority of the literature [37, 22], which emphasises the importance of coding in kids' academic and future skills. The perception of school leaders, other teachers, and parents regarding the computer subject, which includes programming concepts, is a greater obstacle towards programming education. These findings are consistent with the research, which shows a link between school administrators’ attitudes about computing and the success of this teaching process [22]. It was clear from the results that American schools are the most successful in applying programming for primary students because the directors and leaders of these schools' value and allocate resources to this skill, as opposed to British and ministerial schools.

The programming curriculum is also crucial in understanding children's enthusiasm for it. The more appropriate the curriculum is for their age and way of thinking, the easier it is to understand. According to the findings, American school teachers were also the most satisfied with the programming curriculum. This affects the children's satisfaction and passion for it. American schools began to teach children block-based programming, which has a graphical interface and is simple for children to comprehend since it uses gamification to keep kids interested. Teachers at the British schools included in this study did not agree on the curriculum's suitability in their schools. The first instructor stated that the content is inappropriate for the age of the children and must be spoken, while the second teacher considered it appropriate, and the third teacher's school does not teach programming to primary school students but instead teaches them digital literacy. This is consistent with most of the literature, which has emphasised the effectiveness of block-based programming as a starting point for primary students [19, 42, 46].

In accordance with TAM model, students should see the utility and ease of programming before learning it because this will reflect on their love and passion for it. A specific question was asked to determine how children see programming and whether schools educate children about it and its importance, as well as the ease of usage, such as whether it is linked to real life. Few teachers stated that children grasp the purpose and value of programming, but most of their responses were shocking, explaining that students, even in American schools, do not understand the importance or purpose of programming. Teachers point out that students regard it as a game and make no connection between it and real life. Other factors, according to the findings, influence students' comprehension of the utility and purpose of programming. Parents have a large influence on their children, as some parents do not realise the value of programming and believe that it is a male-dominated field and that women should focus on science or math instead. These findings are consistent with the findings of [18], who found that guys were more interested in programming than girls.

As for the study recommendations, the first recommendation, assigning supplementary instructions outside of school time to help students cover missed programming concepts, was categorically rejected by most teachers, who claimed that no one of the parents would support them, and that it would increase the burden on them and the students. Only two teachers who favour the notion believe it is appropriate, particularly after COVID-19, which requires students to learn in a variety of learning modes and situations, so we may take advantage of online learning and assign additional tasks to students. Teachers overwhelmingly supported the second option, which is to separate programming from ICT studies and make it a core subject with adequate time and resources. However, two professors out of thirteen protested, believing that focusing more on programming and integrating it with other courses is adequate.

17 Conclusion

17.1 Major findings

Assisting teachers to teach coding is a major success factor. Additionally, analysing their attitudes toward coding is crucial, as is identifying the type of assistance they receive, as well as the challenges they face. The main objective of the researcher is to highlight the importance of programming and expose the challenges that hinder ICT teachers from teaching this skill properly, aiming to attract the attention of officials and decision-makers to take the appropriate decisions to enhance this learning process. Given the findings, it appears that teachers in American schools are comfortable teaching coding and have been given resources to help them and their students, whereas teachers in British and Ministerial schools are dissatisfied with how their schools deal with programming and have not been given enough resources to prepare the children and help them master this skill. Nevertheless, the programming is not taught properly in the three mentioned schools. Moreover, the curriculum is not appropriate in most schools. Unfortunately, all of the teachers agreed that the ICT subject, which includes the concepts and programming skills, is considered a minor subject. Even if some schools value it, it is still classified as a subsidiary topic.

To conclude, we found that American schools have shown the best performance in applying programming education in their approach. The American schools have provided their teachers with a variety of resources, including specialized training and educational software tools, to support the delivery of programming education. In contrast, British and Ministerial schools face various challenges in applying programming education in their approach due to the limited resources and the lack of specialized training for their teachers. However, all types of schools share common barriers to programming education, such as the lack of time in the curriculum, the lack of student motivation, and the limited availability of technology resources. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the barriers to programming education in UAE primary schools and highlights the importance of providing adequate resources and support to teachers to improve the quality of programming education in all types of schools.

17.2 Implications for action

Based on these findings, this study proposes many courses of action that might be used to try to overcome the problems indicated earlier in the research and to assist and support teachers in this educational process:

First, providing a suitable percentage of educational robot bags to primary school students since these bags influence their passion and love for programming when they see the results of their efforts in front of their eyes.

Second, the programming curriculum for primary school kids must consider their mental and cognitive growth at this time in order to produce a curriculum that corresponds to their level of comprehension and can be easily absorbed and expanded upon in the later phases.

Third, this proposal is for ministerial schools: an explanation of ICT (or Design and Technology, as ministerial schools refer to it) in Arabic should be considered, because, as teachers have indicated, students learn all subjects in Arabic except technology, which includes programming. It is taught in English. As a result, the students struggle to understand the programming, and it is challenging for them because they basically don't understand the English language. According to the teacher’s words, they cannot form a word or sentence in the English language, so how can they understand an entire subject that contains new concepts?

Fourth, integrating programming with other subjects. Programming can be combined with other subjects to achieve the maximum benefit from it.

Fifth, all teachers in each school should be made aware of the role of computer teachers and the importance of programming in increasing students' academic performance, including in their own courses. They should support them and not take their time or undervalue their subjects.

Sixth, on a large scale, the school inspection team should look at this material, and when making a visit to the school, they should include visiting ICT classes and inspecting the laboratories. This, based on teacher consensus, will compel schools to pay attention to and support this material.

Lastly, on a bigger scale, the Ministry of Education should promote this subject and consider the following proposal: establish a new subject devoted only to programming, isolate it from the ICT subject, and make it a core subject covering all programming principles and skills.

18 Limitations and future recommendations

While this study has substantial contributions, the findings are subject to some constraints that may have an impact on the study's validity and generalizability.

The number of participating teachers from British schools was only three, including a teacher from a school that does not teach students programming in the primary stage, so it is not possible to rely on his perceptions to adequately comprehend this stage in the absence of empirical evidence confirming or refuting his perceptions. Therefore, more research is required to explore and comprehend broadly with a broader group of teachers working in British schools to gain a more accurate understanding of how these schools implement programming education for primary students.

The study did not consider the teachers' experience and efficacy, which may have an impact on the learning process. According to several studies, some teachers lack skills in teaching coding. Future research must give information on teachers' competencies in teaching this subject. Future research may also look towards integrating coding with other topics such as math and science.