Computational Thinking Skills, Programming Self-Efficacies and Programming Attitudes of the Students

The purpose of this research is to examine Computational Thinking (CT) skills, Computer Programming Self-Efficacy (CPSE), and Computer Programming Attitude (CPA) of middle school students who took the Information Technologies & Software (IT&S) courses and those who did not, and make various analyses according to the relationships between these variables. It is a correlational study and participants are 5, 6, 7 and 8-grade middle school students. Computational Thinking Levels Scale, Computer Programming Self-Efficacy Scale, and Educational Computer Games Assisted Learning Coding Attitude Scale were used as data collection tools. Multivariable regression analysis and Multivariate Analysis of Variance were performed as statistical technics. As a result of the analysis, it was found that CPA and CPSE variables are significant predictors for CT skills. Both students who took IT&S course and those who did not take have moderate CPSE levels. But students who took IT&S course have a statistically significantly higher CPSE scores. In addition, it was observed that both those who took IT&S course and those who did not have moderate CPA and did not differ statistically, and students who took IT&S course had a high level of CT, while those who did not take the course were moderate and statistically different. It was also found that students who took IT&S courses made cumulative progress in terms of CPSE, CPA and CT variables compared to those who did not. The obtained results are discussed within the framework of middle school IT & S course curriculum held in Turkey in 2018.