Coding and Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: The Impact of ScratchJr in Europe

• Main Author: Marina Umaschi Bers
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lectito Journals 2018-09-01
• Series: European Journal of STEM Education
• Subjects: early childhood; programming; computational thinking
• Online Access: http://www.lectitopublishing.nl/download/coding-and-computational-thinking-in-early-childhood-the-impact-of-scratchjr-in-europe-3868.pdf

In recent years, there has been an increased effort to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education. In accordance with the international trend, programming has become an increasingly growing focus in European education. With over 9.5 million iOS downloads, ScratchJr is the most popular freely available introductory programming language for young children (ages 5-7). This paper provides an overview of ScratchJr, and the powerful ideas from computer science it is designed to teach. In addition, data analytics are presented to show trends of usage in Europe and and how it compares to the rest of the world. Data reveals that countries with robust computer science initiatives such as the UK and the Nordic countries have high usage of ScratchJr.