Perceptions of future basic education teachers about the potential of programming in the educational context

ABSTRACT

Besides the development of disciplinary skills, programming contributes to the development of abilities such as reasoning, problem solving and creativity. Therefore, it is fundamental that in the initial teachers training, programming is an integral part of the curricular unit programs of didactics. This will make it possible to contribute to the integration of programming in future teachers’ practices, in a way that should encourage them to promote the development of the skills listed above in their students. This article describes a study developed in the context of a higher education institution, with students of a master’s degree in teaching. This is a case study sought to understand the future teachers’ perceptions about the potential of programming, before and after attending a workshop about Scratch. The results suggest that future teachers have positive perceptions about the potential of programming in an educational context, which is likely to contribute to its integration into pedagogical practice. It was also found that the workshop contributed to changing the perceptions of these future teachers, namely those whose perceptions were not so favorable to the use of programming in and for learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Programming
• pedagogical practices
• initial teacher training

1. Introduction

Digital Technologies have been increasingly becoming a key role in educational con- texts and in society. Educational institutions, and particularly teachers, should attempt to adapt methodologies and pedagogical strategies in order to enable the integration of these technologies to promote innovative teaching practices, leading to significant pos- itive impacts on the teaching and learning process.

Although teachers initial training – or their overall career – does not always focus on the exploration of these technologies (Oliveira, 2018), there has been an effort by the educational organisations to integrate technologies in teaching and learning. In this regard, we can highlight projects of Portuguese Ministry of Education such as the Classrooms of the Future and the Innovative Learning Spaces, as well as the integration of new method- ologies such as Project Based Learning or Inquiry Based Learning.

Given the existence of these technologies and the incentive to adopt innovative methodologies, the biggest challenge for teachers is precisely knowing how to integrate Digital Technologies into their practices (Costa & Rocha, 2018). The lack of technological training may cause the use of these technologies in their teaching practices to be a challenge (Santos, 2018).

Therefore, it is essential that there is continuous training to ensure teachers’ increased autonomy in the use of technologies, as well as their integration in pedagogical strate- gies and methodologies. The initial training of teachers should also promote the devel- opment of these technological skills in future teachers.

This necessity for the development of technological skills of (future) teachers is nec- essary and justified by the curricular guidelines for the different education cycles. In this context, the Curricular Guidelines for Information and Communication Technolo- gies of the first cycle of basic education (Direção-Geral da Educação 2018) recognise the importance of technologies in the curriculum, to develop digital skills that contribute to the “exercise of an active, critical and responsible citizenship” (p. 2). According to this document, it is intended that students develop

“critical, reflective and responsible attitudes in the use of digital technolo- gies, environments and services; skills in searching and analysing online in- formation; ability to communicate appropriately using digital media and re- sources; creativity, through the exploration of ideas, and the development of computational thinking with a view to produce digital artifacts.” (4, p. 2)

The development of computational thinking thus emerges as an essential learning that should be stimulated. One of the possible ways to do this is to integrate program- ming and robotics activities into educational practices. This approach has been growing globally and has been the subject of several studies and experiences, and is currently very relevant, being essential in the education and life of any citizen (A. Pedro et al., 2017).

It is intended that students are involved in processes by problematising everyday situations, formulating and solving problems, using computational thinking and pro- gramming, as well as initiating practices of introduction to programming with blocks at early levels of education (Direção-Geral da Educação 2018).

The use of these technologies can be used globally across many different levels of education, content, and subjects. This approach and the use of such tools is considered by several authors as an advantage for learning and as a tool that facilitates the student’s involvement in the process of learning focused on the student, having the benefit of doing it in a more playful way and with potential better results compared to more tra- ditional approaches.

As mentioned earlier, programming and robotics can leverage this process and pro- vide students with a set of skills that are important to their development and in their lifelong learning. The decomposition of a problem into simpler parts to solve the overall problem (Loureiro et al., 2019) is just one of the areas where programming and robotics can set themselves up as excellent opportunities to teach otherwise more complex processes (Jesus et al., 2016). According to Wing (2006), computational thinking is a fundamental skill that involves conceptualising and solving problems rather than mechanising procedures. It reflects the way people think, combining mathematical and engineering thinking.

It is extensively argued in the literature that the integration of digital technologies in educational settings, as well as strategies that use digital technologies, have a positive impact on teaching and learning. However, it is not a reality in all schools. Some authors have been studying the factors that affect the integration of technologies in the teaching and learning process. Ertmer (Ertmer, 1999) classified these factors as first order barriers, which include lack of access to technological resources, lack of time to plan lessons using digital technologies and inadequate technical and administrative support, and second order barriers related to the teacher. These include teachers’ beliefs about teaching, their attitudes toward digital technologies, how comfortable they are with continuing exist- ing practices, and their openness to change.

Thus, for teachers to be able to integrate these competencies, there should be an appropriation of these competencies by the teachers. However, according to several authors, the choice of integrating – or not – digital technologies in teaching practices is affected by teachers’ attitudes (Anderson & Maninger, 2007; Castro, 2014; Nordlöf et al., 2019) and these, on the other hand, are influenced by their beliefs and perceptions (Bas et al., 2016).

Also in this context, Pedro and Piedade (N. Pedro & Piedade, 2013) refer that teachers’ use of digital tech- nologies is influenced by their own beliefs regarding the benefits of technologies and their attitudes, especially their sense of self-efficacy. Thus, it is not enough for teachers to overcome technical barriers; there must always be a reflection on the impact of this integration. The first step for the integration of digital technologies is the teacher’s per- ception to be positive about this integration and that it enables changes in the teaching- learning process.

Lima (Lima, 2018) systematized some of the teachers’ perceptions about teaching program- ming. The results of this study show the relevance of teachers’ perceptions and reflec- tions about teaching methodologies. This author also suggests that teachers’ teaching practices should involve strategies that stimulate autonomy and differentiated method- ologies using programming environments instead of more teacher-centred strategies. Therefore, this study aims to understand, on the one hand, the perceptions of future teachers about the contribution of programming, for example using Scratch, to the de- velopment of competencies and, on the other hand, to understand if the future teachers’ perception of the potential of programming changed after they attended a workshop in this area (Scratch programming for teachers), thereby checking their predisposition to integrate it into their practices.

2. Methodology

2.1. Research assumptions, questions and objectives

Based on the premise that programming contributes to the development of various skills and that teachers’ perceptions of the contribution of digital technologies in teaching and learning processes influence their practices, this study intended to answer the following research question: “What are the perceptions of future 1st and 2nd cycle teachers about the potential of programming in these levels of education?”

In this context, the following research objectives were defined:

• Identify the perceptions of future teachers about the suitability and relevance of programming activities in the context of 1st and 2nd cycle learning;

• Understand the perceptions of future teachers about the potential of program- ming activities for 1st and 2nd cycle students;

• Analyse the perceptions of future teachers about the contribution of program- ming activities to the development of skills of 1st and 2nd cycle students, after participating in a workshop;

• Identify the impact on pedagogical practices of the participation of future teachers in a workshop on Programming with Scratch.

It is important to clarify that, in the Portuguese educational system, the 1st cycle of basic education corresponds to the first four years of schooling (students aged 6 to 10). The 2nd cycle corresponds to the next two years of schooling, i.e., fifth and sixth grade (students aged 10 to 12).

2.2. Type of study

This is a case study based on the interpretative paradigm, since it is intended to collect information about the observed context and investigate intensively and in detail a well- defined entity (Coutinho, 2013). It is not intended to seek causal explanations or perform complex statistical analyses, but to analyse the events of that context (Yin, 2003). The relevance of the interpretive paradigm is associated to the fact that this study aims to understand and analyse the perceptions of future teachers by listening to them. According to Bryman (Bryman, 2012), the interpretive paradigm gives particular attention to human action and identifies itself with the way individuals fit in with the environment.

The participants in this study were 26 students from the master’s degrees on 1st and 2nd cycle of basic education of a Portuguese polytechnic higher education institution.

2.3. Data collection and analysis techniques

In order to accomplish the research objectives, we used the survey technique. Ghiglione and Matalon (Ghiglione & Matalon, 2001) refer that the survey is a process of collecting the answers expressed by the participants in a given study, and, in this case, we chose written answers through a questionnaire. According to Quivy and Campenhoudt (Quivy & Campenhoudt, 1998), the questionnaire is an appropriate tool for understanding values, attitudes, opinions, and concerns, even though the answers may be more impersonal in nature. To analyse the data, we chose simple statistics, through the analysis and comparison of the absolute frequencies ob- tained in each question, since the objective was not to abstract the universe of the study.

2.4. Study phases

This study was based on three phases:

As shown in Figure 1, in the first phase of the study, was applied a survey, through an online form, to future teachers to collect their previous perceptions about the appropriateness, relevance, and potential of programming activities in the learning context of students from the 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education. This survey had 4 closed-ended questions about 1) whether the fu- ture teacher knows Scratch; 2) whether the future teacher has ever used Scratch in an educational context; 3) the future teacher’s perceptions of the appropriateness, chil- dren’s ability, and development of soft skills through the use of Scratch; 4) likelihood of the future teacher using Scratch in an educational context.

Figure 1. Study phases.

The second phase corresponded to the participation of future teachers in a workshop on programming, particularly block programming using Scratch. This practical work- shop, which lasted 3 hours, was given by Professor João Torres, from the ICT Compe- tence Centre of the Higher Education School of the Polytechnic of Setubal.

In the third phase, an online survey was applied to the future teachers, similar to the one applied in the first phase, seeking to know their perceptions about the potential of programming activities for 1st and 2nd grade students after participating in the work- shop. This survey had 2 closed-ended questions about 1) the future teacher’s perceptions of the appropriateness, children’s ability, and development of soft skills through the use of Scratch; 2) likelihood of the future teacher using Scratch in an educational context. The survey also had an open-ended question for future teachers to explain why they considered that they were unlikely or unlikely to plan a lesson using Scratch.

3. Presentations and discussion of results

Following, the data obtained through the application of the questionnaires in each phase will be presented and discussed.

3.1. Pre-survey results

Before the workshop, 65,4% of the participants did not have prior knowledge of visual programming like Scratch. Of those who did, only 7,7% had already used it in an edu- cational context.

Regarding the probability of planning an activity involving programming (Figure 2), 46,2% of the participants considered it “not at all likely”, 26,9% considered it “not very likely”, 15,4% “likely” and 11,5% “very likely”.

Figure 2. Probability of planning an activity involving programming.

It is important to highlight that, of the 34,6% of the participants who said they knew Scratch before the workshop (Figure 3), 11,1% consider the use of Scratch in the plan- ning of an activity in a teaching practice context “not at all likely”, 44,4% consider it “not very likely”, 22,2% consider it “likely” and another 22,2% consider it “very likely” to use Scratch in a teaching practice context.

Figure 3. Likelihood of planning an activity involving programming (considering the participants who already knew scratch previously).

It can be observed, therefore, that among the participants who already knew Scratch, there is a lower prevalence of the answer “not at all likely” and a higher prevalence of the answers likely and very likely, which may indicate that the fact of knowing a tool predisposes teachers to its use in practice.

When asked about the ability and suitability of programming for 1st and 2nd cycle students, it was concluded that 19,2% of the participants consider that “1st cycle stu- dents cannot program”, 15,4% consider that “only some 1st and 2nd cycle children can program” and 19,2% consider that “programming is only useful for students from 2nd cycle onwards”. At this level, it was verified that the participants who consider that 1st cycle students can’t program are the same ones who consider that programming is only useful for students from the 2nd cycle onwards. It was also verified that of the partici- pants who said they knew Scratch previously, only 11,1% considered that 1st cycle students cannot program and that programming is only useful for students from the 2nd cycle onwards.

Regarding the participants’ perceptions about the motivation of 1st and 2nd cycle students for programming, it was concluded that 69,2% consider that “programming motivates students”. On the other hand, the remaining 30,8% not only consider that “programming does not motivate students”, but also that it is a boring activity. These results are mostly from participants who did not know Scratch previously.

While 69,2% of the participants consider that programming can contribute to the development of learning in all subjects, 30,8% argue that programming is mostly in the subject of math. 73,1% of the participants in this study affirm that programming con- tributes to the development of soft skills.

In relation to the participants’ initial perceptions about the contribution of program- ming to the development of soft skills (Figure 4), it was found that, in general, partici- pants had positive perceptions about the contribution of programming to the develop- ment of critical thinking, problem-solving skills, creativity and logical thinking. At this level, 76,9% agreed or totally agreed that programming contributed to the development of critical thinking; 84,7% agreed or totally agreed that programming contributed to the development of problem-solving skills and logical thinking; and 73,1% agreed or to- tally agreed that programming contributed to the development of creativity.

Figure 4. Contribution of programming to the development of soft skills.

Comparing and crossing the data, it was found that 11,5% of the participants disagree that programming contributes to the development of critical thinking and, at the same time, creativity. Moreover, the future teachers who do not agree that programming con- tributes to the development of these skills or those who do not have a definite perception (neither agree nor disagree) are, in most of the questions, the same.

Regarding the participants who knew Scratch before the workshop (Figure 5), the results are similar since the joint percentage of participants who agree and totally agree is approximately the same, although there is a higher percentage of participants who totally agree that programming contributes to their development of the different skills.

Figure 5. Contribution of programming to the development of soft skills (considering the partici- pants who already knew scratch).

3.2. Post-survey results

After participating in the workshop on Programming with Scratch, 46,2% of the partic- ipants in the study consider “very likely to plan an activity involving programming in the 1st and 2nd cycles”, 50% consider it “likely” and 3,8% consider it “not very likely”, justifying it with the fact that they still don’t have enough confidence and knowledge to conduct an activity in this domain. Despite this justification, the participants in question have positive perceptions about the contribution of programming to the development of students’ skills.

The comparison between the results obtained in the pre- and post-survey (Table 1) allows us to conclude that, after the workshop, there is a change in the opinions of the future teachers, since in the pre-survey about half (46,2%) of the participants considered it unlikely to plan an activity involving programming and, in the post-survey, almost all participants (96,2%) considered it likely or very likely to do so.

Table 1. Probability of planning an activity involving programming: pre- and post-survey com- parison.

	Pre-survey	Post-survey
Unlikely	46,2%	0,0%
Not very likely	26,9%	3,8%
Likely	15,4%	50,0%
Very likely	11,5%	46,2%

There was also an evolution in the perceptions about the relevance and adequacy of programming for 1st and 2nd cycle students, with only 3,8% considering that 1st cycle students cannot program, and that programming is only useful for students from the 2nd cycle onwards (results that contrast with the 19,2% obtained in the pre-question- naire). At this regard, it was found that the participants who considered that 1st cycle students cannot program correspond to those who consider that programming is only useful from the 2nd cycle onwards.

Regarding the participants’ perceptions about the impact of programming on stu- dents’ motivation, it was found that, after the workshop, that 92,3% consider that pro- gramming motivates students. It was found that only 3,8% consider that programming not only does not motivate students, but that it is an activity that bores them.

Of the participants, 96,1% consider that programming can contribute to the improve- ment of learning in all subjects, although 19,2% believe that programming is mainly included in the subject of math. Also 96,1% of the participants in this study stated that programming contributes to the development of soft skills. These results reflect a sig- nificant change in the participants’ perceptions, since in the pre-survey 69,2% of the participants considered that programming can contribute to the development of learning in all subjects and 73,1% said that programming contributes to the development of soft skills.

Regarding the participants’ perceptions of the contribution of programming to the improvement of transversal competences (Figure 6), after the survey, it could be seen that only 7,7% of them did not have a defined perception (neither agree nor disagree), and this group was formed, in all questions, by the same participants. The remaining 92,3% recognised the potential in programming with Scratch for the development of critical thinking, problem solving skills, creativity, and logical thinking.

Figure 6. Contribution of programming to the development of soft skills.

If we compare these results with those obtained in the pre-survey (Table 2), we conclude that, after the workshop, some of the participants changed their perceptions about the contribution of programming to the development of soft skills.

Table 2. Contribution of programming to the development of soft skills: pre and post-survey comparison.

	Pre-survey					Post-survey
	TD	D	NAND	A	TA	TD	D	NAND	A	TA
Critical thinking	0,0%	11,5%	11,5%	34,6%	42,3%	0,0%	0,0%	7,7%	38,5%	53,8%
Problem Solving	0,0%	0,0%	15,4%	46,2%	38,5%	0,0%	0,0%	7,7%	30,8%	61,5%
Creativity	0,0%	11,5%	15,4%	30,8%	42,3%	0,0%	0,0%	7,7%	34,6%	57,7%
Logical thinking	0,0%	0,0%	19,2%	38,5%	42,3%	0,0%	0,0%	7,7%	34,6%	57,7%

TD: Totally DisagreeD: DisagreeNAND: Neither Agree Nor Disagree A: AgreeTA: Totally Agree

The analysis of Table 2 indicates that in the post-survey there are no negative perceptions (totally disagree or disagree); the percentage of participants with undefined perceptions (neither agree nor disagree) decreased; and the percentage of participants with clearly positive perceptions (totally agree) increased in all the capacities listed.

4. Findings and conclusions

European society in the 21st century is characterized by a strong use of technologies by all age groups. In schools, this is also a reality as students use digital technologies in their daily routines. Therefore, teachers assume a new role, and should include digital technologies in their practices in order to meet the students’ expectations, experiences, and interests.

The use of technologies in educational contexts can contribute and enhance the learning of content from various curriculum areas. In the particular case of program- ming, several capabilities that support the development of diverse skills are recognized in the literature. However, despite the potentialities recognized in the literature, teach- ers’ decisions related to the integration or not of digital technologies in their practices, particularly programming, are affected by their perceptions about the contribution of that resource to the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.

In order to know the perceptions of a sample of future teachers about the potential of programming in an educational context, two questionnaires were applied, one before and one after the participation in a Scratch programming workshop.

The results obtained allow us to state that the future teachers who participated in this study have positive perceptions about the potential of programming in an educational context, which will probably contribute to their implementation in their teaching prac- tice. Kiili et al. [2016] argue that teachers’ positive attitudes and feelings of self-efficacy regarding their ability to use technology will make them more willing to adopt new technologies in their teaching practices. In this regard, it is also important to mention the Technology Acceptance Model, developed by Davis (Davis, 1989), which proposes that the greater the perceived usefulness of the technology and the lower the perceived com- plexity of use, the greater the intention to use it. Thus, individuals define whether or not they intend to use a technology based on their beliefs (Davis et al., 1989), which can be explained by two factors: the Perception of Usefulness and the Perception of Ease of Use.

In the specific context of this study, the fact that future teachers recognise the use- fulness of programming – that is, the possibility of developing skills – may contribute positively to its integration in learning and teaching practices.

The comparison between the results obtained in the pre- and post-survey allows us to affirm that the workshop contributed to a potential change in the perceptions of future teachers, namely those whose perceptions were not so favourable towards the use of programming in and for learning. This result is in line with what is also advocated by (Kiili et al., 2016), who suggest that the development of teachers’ self-efficacy (related to computer self-efficacy and self-efficacy for technology integration) should be supported through training moments, in order to ensure that teachers are properly prepared to integrate digital technologies into their practices. From the results of this study, it can also be seen that if future teachers participate in activities like the workshop we organised, they can apply what they learn into their teaching practices.

Despite the clearly positive results, it is important to continue exploring this study and to understand the impact that these new perceptions had on the practices of these participants in this specific context, as well as understand the long-term impact of the lessons learned in this workshop and this type of approach.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is funded by National Funds through the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project Refª UIDB/05507/2020. Furthermore, we would like to thank the Centre for Studies in Education and Innovation (CI&DEI) and the Polytechnic of Leiria for their support. This work is also funded by DigiMedia centre and by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project UIDB/05460/2020.