DEVELOPMENT OF ALGORITHMIC AND PROGRAMMING THINKING AT PRIMARY SCHOOL IN STATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Abstract

Emerging countries have education program development that is outdated compared to advanced countries in terms of content, approaches, delivery, training, and use of technology. While Kazakhstan aims to raise its digital literacy to at least 80% by 2022, most of its grade school students have limited knowledge and exposure to information technology. In 2018, most of the professionals across Kazakhstan received digital literacy training from the government, yet this is insufficient to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to properly educate young learners in computer science or programming. With limited experience in teaching computer science and the absence of teaching manuals that take into account Kazakhstan’s culture and learning styles, teachers may be unable to efficiently educate young learners. Indeed, information technology creates opportunities to enhance the educational and cognitive activities of young schoolchildren (6-10) but only if it can be properly utilized. The author believes that the same situation is true for the rest of the developing economies. Emerging economies need to have proper teacher training, facilities, and guidelines to successfully develop the algorithmic and programming thinking of children at primary school. The research aim is algorithmic and programming thinking development at primary school in state educational programs in selected countries (Kazakhstan, Hungary, Slovakia). In the field of the development of algorithmic and programmatic thinking in primary school, the author also means how programmable toys and robots are used to consider the methodology of teaching computer science. The author provides a literature review and a comparative study of state educational programs of Hungary, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan, particularly in primary school computer science with the purpose of the importance of the development of algorithmic and programming thinking in primary school in individual state curricula. The results will be used to help improvements in computer science programs for primary schoolchildren.