Computer Science Education in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany—A Case Study

Abstract

In North-Rhine Westphalia, the most populated state in Germany, Computer Science (CS) has been taught in secondary schools since the early 1970s. This article provides an overview of the past and current situation of CS education in North-Rhine Westphalia, including lessons learned through efforts to introduce and to maintain CS in secondary education. In particular, we focus on the differential school system and the educational landscape of CS education, the different facets of CS teacher education, and CS education research programs and directions that are directly connected with these aspects. In addition, this report offers a rationale for including CS education in general education, which includes the educational value of CS for students in today’s information and knowledge society. Through this article, we ultimately provide an overview of the significant elements that are crucial for the successful integration of CS as a compulsory subject within secondary schools.

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

“…A compulsory state education 'would teach people how to be happy and therefore would reduce violence, mischief and political unrest' (West, 1965, p. 134) and enable people to understand their circumstances and improve them (p. 134), reducing the number of the 'stack-burning peasantry' (p. 134). Moreover, compulsory education would enable England to remain internationally competitive (p. 134), rationales similar to those articulated above by the Yes case and for introducing coding in the German context noted above [van Weert 1984] (Knobelsdorf et al, 2015).…”

“…While research-informed discussion focused specifically on reasons why coding is now more prominent in the school curriculum is arguably still limited; notwithstanding policy-linked reports invariably constructing an economic case (Deloitte Access Economics, 2016), these reasons have occasionally been articulated as part of a broader discussion of coding in schools, particularly where coding is a compulsory subject. This literature shows that while some reasons have changed over time, others have remained largely the same (Knobelsdorf et al, 2015;Jovanov et al, Hubwieser, 2012). In their discussion of coding in German school curriculum from the 1970s, Knobelsdorf et al note that:…”

“…Coding in schools is not a new phenomenon, being a curriculum area introduced as early as the 1970s in some settings (Knobelsdorf et al, 2015) and during the 1980s and 1990s in others (Cartelli, 2002;Popat & Starkey, 2019). While these instances have been implemented with varying success over the past 30 to 40 years, the most recent 'initiative' arguably gained momentum from the first decade of the twenty-first century (Bresnihan, Millwood, Oldham, Strong, & Wilson, 2015), as part of a larger coding for all movement (Dimeo, 2017;Shein, 2014;Thoreau, 2017).…”

“…A clue as to what kind of society this might be, and what political philosophy frames it, is offered in Knobelsdorf et al (2015) discussion. Referencing the relatively early introduction of coding in German schools, they note that the curriculum was labelled with the term informatische Bildung.…”

“…121-122). Beyond this, the No case's assertion that compulsory coding will either produce a 'class' of students who can code, as opposed to those who cannot, who will subsequently 'hate' coding, further resonates with the experience of compulsory coding in earlier implementations (Knobelsdorf et al, 2015).…”