Bourdieu and programming classes for the disadvantaged: a review of current practice as reported online—implications for non-formal coding classes in Bali

Abstract

The software development sector is rapidly expanding. It generates vast revenues whether categorised under ICT or creative industries. It has a capacity to support national economic growth and is supportive of economic development. Despite such opportunity, the poor and disadvantaged are often excluded from access to and participation in this sector. In light of this context, our paper comprises a first step in a project aiming to offer software development classes to disadvantaged youth in Bali, Indonesia. To guide construction of the curriculum, we review publically available online literature around current practice in the provision of non-formal education-based programming classes to the disadvantaged. We wanted to know what might constrain disadvantaged students from participation in this field, what as a consequence might be their response to educational opportunities for this field, and what might be needed to provide ‘agentic’ learning experiences. We also wanted to evaluate the suitability of Bourdieu’s Social Reproduction Theory in terms of reading this literature and providing a broad level framing to guide initial thinking about curriculum construction in response to these questions. This paper presents findings from our review of the online publically available literature and argues the value of Social Reproduction Theory to understanding current practice and guiding preliminary thinking around curriculum construction.

How to specify healthcare process improvements collaboratively using rapid, remote consensus-building: a framework and a case study of its application

“…The use of a video format to elicit suggestions for improvement was intended to enhance participant engagement [ 76 , 77 ], minimise cognitive burden (e.g. not having to study a written manual) [ 117 ], and align maternity professionals’ desire to have more COVID-specific e-resources available [ 104 ].…”

“…not having to study a written manual) [ 117 ], and align maternity professionals’ desire to have more COVID-specific e-resources available [ 104 ]. The video format was also expected to work well for the study participants using a range of different technologies, including mobile devices [ 76 , 118 ].…”

“…equipment or software). The most appropriate form can be selected based on the technical aspects of the healthcare process, alignment with the goals of the final product, expectations of participants’ available time, questions of how to maximise participant engagement, and possibilities and limitations of (mobile) devices and platforms on which the draft/prototype will be presented [ 76 , 77 ].…”

Compulsory coding in education: liberal-humanism, Baudrillard and the ‘problem’ of abstraction

“…While online 'discourse' communities reveal a shared sense of interest and purpose, the higher degree of (relative) anonymity-a factor currently informing policy discussion around social media regulation (Phillips & Bartlett, 2018)-increases opportunities for personal disclosure, such that online comments about compulsory coding likely reproduces a 'truer' account of feelings (Joinson, 2005). This data sourcing strategy thus follows the recent example of Tamatea and Paramatasari (2018), who collected rich online data to map current approaches to providing coding classes for disadvantaged youth.…”

“…Whereas the coding agenda was once more so associated with programmers and computer societies seeking discipline exposure (Jovanov, Stankov, Mihova, Ristov, & Gusev, 2016), it is now an initiative shared more broadly by states, industry, entrepreneurs and presidents (Smith, 2016). Related to this has been the emergence of the creative industries economy (Gouvea & Vora, 2018;Tamatea & Paramatasari, 2018) and arguably a populist change in the discursive representation of the programmer (Kainulainen, 2013;Pritchard, 2016). Now it seems everyone can or should code.…”