The Importance of Context: Assessing the Challenges of K-12 Computing Education through the Lens of Biggs 3P Model

Abstract

The evolution and innovation of technology within society has caused many changes and challenges for computing education. However, the root cause of these challenges are often misunderstood, or neglected. Therefore, this paper deals with the question of identifying the contextual factors that create the challenges which exist in K-12 computing education. To do this, the perspectives of 32 English college employees were considered, with the challenges and contextual factors identified being mapped to Biggs 3P Model of classroom learning. Through this process, in addition to a short comparison between English and Finnish education systems and policy, the 3P Model was re-framed to include the fourth P of Policy consisting of government priorities', and regulatory bodies'. Findings indicate the extent to which contextual factors influence the challenges and effectiveness of computing education, and how many of these factors are interlinked, despite ranging from macro-environment trends and policy to an individual student's knowledge of programming. Together, these findings raise important philosophical questions of what computing education is, and what the goals of computing education should be. The answers to these questions have significant implications for practice, which practitioners and policy makers must consider for the design of any computing program of study, while the amended 3P Model can be used to identify the contextual factors which may influence the effectiveness of such programs. Furthermore, this paper contributes to the limited body of research concerning English college education, and more specifically perspectives regarding computing education in this context.