Comparative Analysis of Surveys Focused on Pupils' Attitudes Toward the Teaching of Programming in Schools

Abstract

The teaching of programming has been implemented at elementary schools worldwide as early as at the age of six. Even though the subject matter in the teaching of programming is mostly given, the specific form and content of lessons can significantly influence the attitudes of pupils, yet there is no standardized tool for evaluation of pupils' attitude toward the course. This study aims to compare and analyze existing attitudes surveys specifically focused on programming while considering limitations of secondary school pupils (ISCED-2). The article is based on theoretical and methodological literature review and a comparative analysis of existing surveys. Current surveys are mostly focused on university students and the questions are far too complex to be understood by pupils at elementary schools, making it necessary to create and validate new attitudes survey purely for the purpose of the topic of programming, that would reflect secondary school pupils limitations. Such a survey could be further used to compare different programming courses and their impact on pupils' attitudes. The research serves as a foundation for the development and testing of a new attitudes survey derived from existing ones and specifically modified for secondary school pupils.