What training are primary teachers receiving to implement the new computing curriculum and are they prepared to succeed?

Abstract

In 2013, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education in England succeeded in a proposal to replace the national curriculum foundation subject of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with Computing in all English primary and secondary schools. The new subject was implemented in schools as of September 2014. Computing replaced ICT and required new in-service training for teachers to deliver this new subject. This paper examines how a small sample of teachers have been prepared to teach the new Computing curriculum and the barriers they face in successfully teaching this subject. Issues such insufficient training, a lack of content and pedagogical knowledge and a lack of time and support in schools are problems that have been identified long before the introduction of this new subject. This study aims to examine if these issues are still barriers for teachers in delivering Computing or if the training they have been provided has adequately prepared them to teach this subject. Interviews and surveys were carried out to investigate the type of training teachers had received and the effectiveness of this training. Participants indicated that their training was insufficient and lacked pedagogical and content knowledge. They also indicated that their training focused on the use of specific coding programs and did not prepare them to teach the Computing curriculum. Participants also communicated that the issues of insufficient time and support within schools that were identified as barriers to teaching ICT are still barriers to teaching the Computing curriculum.