Perceptions of future basic education teachers about the potential of programming in the educational context

Abstract

ABSTRACT Besides the development of disciplinary skills, programming contributes to the development of abilities such as reasoning, problem solving and creativity. Therefore, it is fundamental that in the initial teachers training, programming is an integral part of the curricular unit programs of didactics. This will make it possible to contribute to the integration of programming in future teachers’ practices, in a way that should encourage them to promote the development of the skills listed above in their students. This article describes a study developed in the context of a higher education institution, with students of a master’s degree in teaching. This is a case study sought to understand the future teachers’ perceptions about the potential of programming, before and after attending a workshop about Scratch. The results suggest that future teachers have positive perceptions about the potential of programming in an educational context, which is likely to contribute to its integration into pedagogical practice. It was also found that the workshop contributed to changing the perceptions of these future teachers, namely those whose perceptions were not so favorable to the use of programming in and for learning.