Evaluating Kindergarten Parents’ Acceptance of Unplugged Programming Language Courses: An Extension of Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

The changing economic environment in Taiwan has led to an increase in the structure of double-income families. To compensate for the lack of time to take care of their children and the regret of their learning process, parents will send their children to kindergarten early. Parents choose to expose their children to better education and learning models because they do not want their children to get behind at the starting point. The newly introduced unplugged programming language curriculum can develop children’s logical and computational thinking skills to face future learning and employment skills in information and communications technology-related industries. The purpose of this study is to examine the parental acceptance of unplugged programming language courses and to analyze the relationship between the variables in the study framework to understand influencing factors. The theoretical basis of the study is the planned behavior theory. This study replaces behavioral intention with parents’ acceptance and establishes a basic framework of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. The study framework is established by combining the factors of expectation and compensation as antecedent variables of attitude. An online e-questionnaire is distributed to parents of children aged 5–6 years old in Taiwan to collect data. The structural equation model is conducted on 489 data points. Results of the study reveal that expectation and compensation have a significant effect on attitude. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control have a significant positive effect on family acceptance of unplugged programming language. Furthermore, the expectation and compensation psychology affect the parental acceptance of unplugged language programs through attitude. Finally, practical applications and future research directions regarding the promotion of unplugged programming language for young children are provided.