Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computer Science in Elementary Education Supported Through Coding with ScratchJr

Abstract

Persistent underrepresentation of marginalized groups in computing underscores the need for pedagogies that advance equity and cultural relevance. Beyond preparing students for future careers, coding in elementary school can serve as a new form of literacy, a written language that fosters metacognition and creative reasoning. Programming is thus not merely a technical skill but a cognitive and expressive practice that helps learners reflect on their thinking and iteratively refine ideas. Equity frameworks such as Culturally Responsive Computing and Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computer Science call for aligning computing education with students' cultural identities, community knowledge, and lived experiences. Despite their promise, a gap remains between these frameworks and everyday classroom practice in early grades. This paper presents an intervention proposal ScratchJr-based, analyzed through the lens of the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computer Science Framework, illustrating how such approaches can be enacted in practice. Grounded in Coding as Another Language and Coding as a Palette of Virtues, the project engages young learners in reinterpreting traditional folk narratives across diverse cultural contexts. Through storytelling and block-based programming, students develop computational thinking alongside creativity, empathy, and intercultural awareness. The proposed design suggests that such cross-curricular, culturally anchored computing experiences can support identity development, foster inclusion, and broaden participation from the earliest stages of schooling. The work offers a concrete, replicable model for translating equity-oriented pedagogies into sustainable classroom routines.