Exploring Saudi Computer Science Teachers’ Conceptual Mastery Level of Computational Thinking Skills

Abstract

The Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia implemented a new computer science curriculum in 2008. There was speculation that many computer science teachers did not possess sufficient knowledge of computational thinking needed to teach this subject. To investigate this topic, a quantitative research study was conducted with 55 male computer science teachers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results of the study revealed that most of the computer science teachers had a low conceptual level of computational thinking, and some of the teachers had misconceptions about the exact nature of computational thinking. Findings indicated that computer science teachers did indeed need more training in what computational thinking means and how to teach this subject.