4.1 Qualitative Results
4.1.2 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.
British schools
Not all British schools teach primary school students programming in the same way. This was obvious from the teachers' responses to the fourth question, which revealed that one school teaches programming in grade 1, another in grade 3, and the third has removed programming ideas from the ICT curriculum since 2019.
The fifth interview question is to determine whether the curriculum is appropriate for the age and level of understanding of primary pupils. According to one teacher, the curriculum is appropriate; however, the problem is in school implementation, as follows:
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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 teacher expressed hope that the curriculum would be revised because it is inappropriate.
In response to the responses to this question, the researcher posed the two following questions:
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. The majority of students in these British schools do not appreciate programming, which influences their attitudes toward it.
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:
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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."
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.
American Schools
Students in American schools begin learning programming in grade one. Overall, the responses for curriculum compatibility were satisfactory. The teachers observe 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 pupils 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)
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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.
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. All teachers were dissatisfied with the computer science and programming curriculum given in primary schools. In contrast to the nature of the subjects, the curriculum is rigorous and very theoretical, particularly for the first two years. 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).
It is not appropriate. About half of the curriculum is theoretical, which it is not supposed to be.
It is hard for grades 1 and 2. Students at this age require something they can touch and see results from in order to understand. The students in my school learn to programme in Scratch by grade 3. (Teacher 3).
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. To the extent of teaching them the algorithms in grade 2, which is a complex concept for them, in grade 3 they start working on block-based programming using Scratch. In my opinion, the opposite should have happened. We should start with Scratch in the first two grades, and then in grade three, we may be able to teach them these abstract concepts and skills. (Teacher 5).
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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. Their objection responses are as follows:
Teacher 1: No, neither parents nor students perceive the usefulness of programming.
Teacher 12: If it is applied properly, they will perceive its usefulness. But sometimes the school doesn’t provide the tools to help them do so, because without practise they will feel it is useless.
Teacher 3: Not really, because as I mentioned in grades 1 and 2, they study only theoretical parts.
Teacher 5: No, not clear. The students learn about energy and renewable energy in detail in ICT subjects that are related to science, and they are not aware of their relationship with computers. The students usually ask about the relationship between what we learn and the main subject.
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.
Instructor 12: 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.
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.