Megean Garvin
Skip Abstract Section
Abstract
High school computing education reform efforts have been ongoing across the United States, particularly in the past decade. Although national Computer Science (CS) for All initiatives are promising, states retain control over education policies. Recent computing education reform efforts in the state of Maryland (U.S.A.) focused on providing every public high school student with access to high-quality high school computing courses. Such access provides exposure to computing careers and better prepares a diverse pool of students for computing majors in college and the workforce. This comprehensive embedded multi-level case study examines the state’s computing education reform efforts from 2010 through 2016. The expansion of computing education indicates that while there was positive growth, the growth was not the same for all categories of public high school students. Top-down policies assist in providing leverage to elevate the need for CS; however, bottom-up efforts to support students and to enable teachers to retain autonomy and professionalism is also needed for CS expansion. Despite successes, barriers at the state, Local Education Agencies (LEA), school, and classroom levels persist and are discussed. The findings in this study can be applied to other states with similar governance structures and policies, and we provide specific recommendations.
- Computer Science Teachers Association. 2013. Comparison Results for the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 CSTA National Secondary School Computer Science Surveys. Technical Report. CSTA. Retrieved from: https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.csteachers.org/resource/resmgr/Docs/Research/HSSurveys/CSTASurvey2013Comp.pdf.Google Scholar
- College Board. 2018. About AP Computer Science Principles (kernel description). Retrieved from: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-computer-science-principles.Google Scholar
- Ira E. Bogotch. 2014. Autonomy and accountability: The power/knowledge knot. School Lead. Manag. 34, 4 (2014), 317--323.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hae Yeon Choo and Myra Marx Ferree. 2010. Practicing intersectionality in sociological research: A critical analysis of inclusions, interactions, and institutions in the study of inequalities. Socio. Theor. 28, 2 (June 2010), 129--149.Google Scholar
- Code.org. 2018. About Code.org. Retrieved from: https://code.org/about.Google Scholar
- David K. Cohen and Jal D. Mehta. 2017. Why reform sometimes succeeds: Understanding the conditions that produce reforms that last. Amer. Educ. Res. J. 54, 4 (2017), 644--690.Google ScholarCross Ref
- College Board. 2017. AP CSP Curriculum Framework. Retrieved from: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/pdf/ap-computer-science-principles-course-and-exam-description.pdf.Google Scholar
- Patricia Hill Collins. 2000. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge.Google Scholar
- Commission on Standards for School Mathematics. 1989. Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.Google Scholar
- Marie desJardins and Susan Martin. 2013. CE21-Maryland: The state of computer science education in Maryland high schools. In Proceedings of the 44th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE’13). ACM, New York, NY, 711--716. Google ScholarDigital Library
- John Dewey. 1902. The Child and the Curriculum. Number 5. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
- John Dewey. 1998. Experience and Education. Kappa Delta Pi.Google Scholar
- John Dewey. 2004. Democracy and Education. Courier Corporation.Google Scholar
- Gallup. 2018. Pioneering Results in the Blueprint of U.S. K--12 Computer Science Education. Retrieved from: http://csedu.gallup.com/home.aspx.Google Scholar
- Christopher Gamrat, Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Jaclyn Dudek, and Kyle Peck. 2014. Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. Brit. J. Educ. Technol. 45, 6 (2014), 1136--1148.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Megean Garvin, Michael Neary, Kayla Carrigan, and Marie desJardins. 2018. Maryland computing education growth from 2011--2016. In Proceedings of the 3rd RESPECT Conference. IEEE Special Technical Community on Broadening Participation, Baltimore, MD.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Joanna Goode. 2007. If you build teachers, will students come? The role of teachers in broadening computer science learning for urban youth. J. Educ. Comput. Res. 36, 1 (2007), 65--88.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Mark Guzdial. 2016. Bringing computer science to U.S. schools, state by state. Commun. ACM 59, 5 (Apr. 2016), 24--25. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mark Guzdial, Barbara J. Ericson, Tom McKlin, and Shelly Engelman. 2012. A statewide survey on computing education pathways and influences: Factors in broadening participation in computing. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER’12). ACM, New York, NY, 143--150. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Atli Harðarson. 2018. The school as a democratic workplace: The political dimension of Dewey’s democracy and education. Educ. Cult. 34, 1 (2018), 3--18.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Angela K. Henneberger, Mathew C. Uretsky, Susan Klumpner, and Michael E. Woolley. 2016. Remedial Coursework in Maryland: Examining Trends, High School Predictors, and College Outcomes. Technical Report. MLDS and University of Maryland, Baltimore. Retrieved from: https://mldscenter.maryland.gov/egov/Publications/Remedial_Oct2016__Final.pdf.Google Scholar
- Joseph Kahne. 1994. Democratic communities, equity, and excellence: A Deweyan reframing of educational policy analysis. Educ. Eval. Policy Anal. 16, 3 (1994), 233--248.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Suneal Kolluri. 2018. Advanced placement: The dual challenge of equal access and effectiveness. Rev. Educ. Res. 88, 5 (2018), 671--711.Google ScholarCross Ref
- John Konvalina, Stanley A. Wileman, and Larry J. Stephens. 1983. Math proficiency: A key to success for computer science student. Commun. ACM 26, 5 (1983), 377--382. Google ScholarDigital Library
- James Kurose and Erwin Gianchandani. 2018. NSF Highlights Expanded Efforts for Broadening Participation in Computing (kernel description). Retrieved from: https://www.hpcwire.com/2018/09/13/nsf-highlights-expanded-efforts-for-broadening-participation-in-computing.Google Scholar
- Judith Warren Little. 1993. Teachers’ professional development in a climate of educational reform. Educ. Eval. Policy Anal. 15, 2 (1993), 129--151.Google Scholar
- Paul Manna. 2013. Centralized governance and student outcomes: Excellence, equity, and academic achievement in the US states. Policy Stud. J. 41, 4 (2013), 682--705.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Paul Manna and Patrick McGuinn. 2013. Education Governance for the Twenty-first Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriers to School Reform. Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
- Jane Margolis. 2010. Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing. The MIT Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- NSF. 2014. College Board Launches New AP Computer Science Principles Course. Retrieved from: https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=133571.Google Scholar
- Barack Obama. 2016. Fact Sheet: President Obama Announces Computer Science for All Initiative. Retrieved from: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/30/fact-sheet-president-obama-announces-computer-science-all-initiative-0.Google Scholar
- Noa Ragonis, Orit Hazzan, and Judith Gal-Ezer. 2010. A survey of computer science teacher preparation programs in Israel tells us: Computer science deserves a designated high school teacher preparation! In Proceedings of the 41st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. ACM, 401--405. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hunter Railey. 2017. State education governance structures: 2017 update. 50-state review. Education Commission of the States (2017).Google Scholar
- Daniel Reyes-Guerra, Marianne R. Russo, Ira E. Bogotch, and Maria D. Vásquez-Colina. 2014. Building a school leadership programme: An American paradox of autonomy and accountability. School Lead. 8 Manag. 34, 4 (2014), 414--437.Google Scholar
- Jean J. Ryoo, Jane Margolis, Clifford H. Lee, Cueponcaxochitl D. M. Sandoval, and Joanna Goode. 2013. Democratizing computer science knowledge: Transforming the face of computer science through public high school education. Learn., Media Technol. 38, 2 (2013), 161--181.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Nicholas Tampio. 2017. Democracy and national education standards. J. Politics 79, 1 (2017), 33--44.Google ScholarCross Ref
- William G. Tierney, Zoë B. Corwin, and Amanda Ochsner. 2018. Diversifying Digital Learning: Online Literacy and Educational Opportunity. JHU Press. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Baltimore County University of Maryland. 2018b. Freshman Applicant Requirements. Retrieved from: https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/requirements/freshman.Google Scholar
- Baltimore County University of Maryland. 2018a. Undergraduate Admissions. Retrieved from: https://undergraduate.umbc.edu/apply/freshmen.php.Google Scholar
- Jennifer Wang and Sepehr Hejazi Moghadam. 2017. Diversity barriers in K--12 computer science education: Structural and social. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE’17). ACM, New York, NY, 615--620. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Jennifer Wang, Hai Hong, Jason Ravitz, and Sepehr Hejazi Moghadam. 2016. Landscape of K--12 computer science education in the U.S.: Perceptions, access, and barriers. In Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE’16). ACM, New York, NY, 645--650. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Terri S. Wilson and Matthew Ryg. 2017. Non-ideal autonomy: Dewey and reframing educational authority. Philosophy of Education Archive (2017), 247--255.Google Scholar
- Robert K. Yin. 2010. Qualitative Research from Start to Finish. The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- State Case Study of Computing Education Governance
Recommendations
Computer Science Education in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany—A Case Study
Special Issue II on Computer Science Education in K-12 SchoolsIn North-Rhine Westphalia, the most populated state in Germany, Computer Science (CS) has been taught in secondary schools since the early 1970s. This article provides an overview of the past and current situation of CS education in North-Rhine ...
Partnering to Promote State-by-State Computing Education Reform (Abstract Only)
SIGCSE '15: Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science EducationWe are all excited to see an increasing number of national efforts to reform computing education. Persistent and sustainable change in a state, its higher education institutions, and its K12 districts requires the active participation of individuals and ...
State-level advocacy for computing education reform (abstract only)
SIGCSE '14: Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science educationWhile it is exciting to see an increasing number of national efforts to reform computing education, such as those led by CSTA, Computing in the Core, ACM, NCWIT, code.org and many others, real change at the state, district and school level requires the ...
Comments