Teachers’ Views on the Implementation of a New High School Computing Curriculum

Abstract

Computer science and programming achievement standards for the three final years of high school were introduced in New Zealand in 2011. More than a decade after the introduction, the experiences of teachers who play a key role in the successful implementation have been largely overlooked. However, listening to teachers’ experiences with preparing, teaching and assessing these standards enables us to discover barriers and challenges, along with solutions suggested to overcome them. We conducted an online survey in 2021 and received responses from 91 teachers in New Zealand who have been involved with the new standards. Our analysis identified barriers and related challenges for both teachers and students, falling in to five main categories: standard content, resources, support, assessment, and student centered factors. In many cases these barriers hinder successful implementation and student participation. From the suggestions made we deduce actions which could be taken by schools as well as factors beyond the schools’ control to address these barriers. The survey showed that the majority of the teachers were not satisfied with the time available for upskilling, and the guidance available on marking assessments. Lack of support materials was also considered to be a pressing issue. The key suggestions that emerged were inclusion of more practical work instead of theory and writing, and more time for teachers to practise the subject. With this study we provide a subjective evaluation of the current situation in New Zealand suggesting some improvements for the future which we trust will be valuable to researchers in other countries undergoing similar implementations.