소프트웨어 교육 효과성 검증

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of software (SW) education programs implemented in elementary, middle, and high schools, focusing on their impact on computational thinking, creativity, and SW attitudes. Additionally, the study aimed to verify whether gender differences occur in these competencies among students.
 Methods A pre-post survey related to computational thinking, creative self-efficacy, and SW attitudes was con-ducted among 814 elementary, middle, and high school students who participated in SW·AI camps during the winter vacation period in 2022. The survey was administered at the first and final classes of the camp programs. Data analysis involved independent t-tests, paired t-tests, and comparisons to measure improvements in com-putational thinking, creative self-efficacy, SW attitudes, and gender-based differences.
 Results The post-test results revealed an average score of 3.739(standard deviation = 0.794) for students' com-putational thinking, 3.694(standard deviation = 0.873) for creative self-efficacy, and 3.741(standard deviation = 0.875) for SW attitudes. The pre-post score comparison revealed statistically significant improvement in these competencies. Furthermore, when comparing gender differences, male students showed significantly higher scores than female students only in SW attitudes.
 Conclusions SW education programs conducted in elementary, middle, and high school settings demonstrated a significant positive impact on computational thinking, creative self-efficacy, and SW attitudes. Additionally, gender differences were observed in SW attitudes. These results emphasize the necessity of enhancing the qual-ity management of SW education and providing operational and administrative support, aligning with the national policy's expansion of software education. Further research is proposed based on the limitations of the study.