Steps Towards a Philosophy of Computing Education (DISCUSSION PAPER)

Abstract

Is it meaningful to talk about the philosophy of computing education? What is its subject matter and methods? Is it different from, or a subfield of, the philosophy of science education or the philosophy of technology education or the philosophy of engineering education? And how does the study of the philosophy of computing education help us with the goal of teaching students about computing? In this paper, we attempt to examine these questions. We look at the role of philosophical inquiry in the STEM fields and examine the philosophies of education found in those subjects. We first attempt to identify a framework for characterising questions of a philosophical nature that is appropriate for application to the STEM subjects. We describe the categories such questions fall under and consider methodological questions associated with this kind of inquiry. We also look at issues that arise within the philosophy of education and which are relevant when considering the philosophies of disciplinary education. We investigate some of the similarities and differences that exist between these fields and a philosophy of computing education and provide an initial description of the latter. We briefly consider other “sense-making” vocabulary used in computing education research, such as “theory” and suggest reasons why philosophical inquiry should be an important part of computing education research.