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Enhancing computational thinking skills in informatics in secondary education: the case of South Korea

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching–learning process of informatics education in South Korea, where an informatics education initiative was recently announced for K-12 education. Based on this initiative, this study aimed to investigate the effect of academic self-efficacy, teacher support, and a deep approach to learning computational thinking. The participants were 84 freshman students at a lower secondary school enrolled in a regular informatics class during Spring 2018. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data. The key findings were as follows: first, academic self-efficacy and teacher support had a significant influence on a deep approach to learning. Second, academic self-efficacy and a deep approach to learning had a significant influence on computational thinking. This study suggests implications for enhancing computational thinking skills in informatics in secondary education.

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Data availability

Research data were gathered through a questionnaire. Participation was voluntary and participants had the option to abort at any time. Data were anonymized prior to data analysis and storage. The data can be obtained by sending a request e-mail to the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Technology, Ewha Womans University, 52, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea

    Myunghwa Lee & Jeongmin Lee

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  1. Myunghwa Lee
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  2. Jeongmin Lee
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Correspondence to Jeongmin Lee.

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Lee, M., Lee, J. Enhancing computational thinking skills in informatics in secondary education: the case of South Korea. Education Tech Research Dev 69, 2869–2893 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-10035-2

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