Teaching Computational Thinking: are we considering students' socio-cultural context?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Research to promote Computational Thinking (CT) has become frequent and carried out with the most different characteristics. Educational researchers argue that learning research needs to consider aspects of students' sociocultural context, regardless of what tools are used and how content is worked. However, it is not known if, and to what extent, these aspects are being considered in research to promote CT. OBJECTIVE: This research investigates whether the literature on initiatives to teach CT is recognizing and exploring aspects of students' sociocultural context and, mainly, how this is occurring. METHOD:A systematic review of the literature covering a decade (2007-2017) of articles published in the main vehicles of Computer Science in Education and Computer Science, considering the national and international scenario. RESULTS: The data indicate the students' sociocultural context is not being considered in the activities, although there is evidence that the scenario may be beginning to change. CONCLUSION: The results show that there is a growing concern and an evident effort by researchers to bring relevant elements of students' lives into the conducted practices. However, although it is possible to identify aspects of students' sociocultural context being considered by the mapped researches, it is still necessary to advance in terms of the rigor of the characterization of these aspects and the theoretical basis of the research.