Computational thinking as part of compulsory education: How is it represented in Swedish and Norwegian curricula?

Abstract

In recent years, many countries have revised their school policy documents to incorporate digital competence, computational thinking and programming. This study examines and compares how and in what contexts Nordic curricula, Swedish and Norwegian in particular, embody aspects of computational thinking. Results show that only parts of the practices defined in the computational thinking framework used for analysis could be explicitly identified in the curriculum documents. The most salient computational thinking practice represented in both the Swedish and Norwegian curricula is programming, and programming is primarily recognized as a method and tool for learning other subject content and not as a knowledge domain in its own right. Implicitly both curricula leave leeway for teachers to implement a broader approach to computational thinking. However, this would need much time, teacher competence and effort, and what it requires seems to be under-communicated in the curricula, leaving schools and teachers with major challenges.