Computational transformations of early childhood education: Pathways toward child-centred computing in two educational change projects

Programming is becoming a key subject in early education globally, with surging problems of how computer science can become a subject for children of all ages and backgrounds. Problems of implementing new technologies in the old curricula have long been noted, and lately, concern over computer science education goals is often too narrow and skills-based without concerns for the critical educational potential. This study follows the change process of two case preschool departments implementing programming with a floor robot across a seven-month design process. Mixed analytical techniques based on activity theory are used to examine the tensions, conflicts and development of pedagogical alternatives. The studies show the strenuous change processes involving local transformations toward a child-centred, inclusive early computer science education and development of projects centring making, children's exploration, tinkering and play as key parts of the learning process. It discusses how the considerable change processes enabled pedagogical solutions coherent with important concepts in computer programming and how computing education can build on child-centred pedagogies through local adaptations and age-appropriate designs.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Computer science and programming are becoming part of early education worldwide.
• Less is known about how to implement computing with ever-younger age groups, especially for those under three.
• That technological change can be a strenuous change process building on societal, historical and educational tensions, requiring individual learning and organisational change.

What this paper adds

• Two cases of change designing computing education for 1–2- and 3–5-year-olds.
• Design processes raising critical questions about current standard childhood programming materials being resolved to enable a child-centred computing education.
• Challenges and potentials specific to early childhood in adopting computer science education.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Computing education challenges pedagogical notions, such as the role of failure in education.
• Computing education can be developed for very young children. However, there are considerable critical challenges to resolve in developing a child-centred approach.
• Childhood fundamentals such as play-based pedagogy can work synergistically with computer science activities, providing educational potential, also relevant for computer science education at large.