Research Article
The Ecosystem of Computer Science Education in Bulgarian Primary School – State of the Art
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-031-44668-9_26, author={Georgi Tuparov and Daniela Tuparova}, title={The Ecosystem of Computer Science Education in Bulgarian Primary School -- State of the Art}, proceedings={Computer Science and Education in Computer Science. 19th EAI International Conference, CSECS 2023, Boston, MA, USA, June 28--29, 2023, Proceedings}, proceedings_a={CSECS}, year={2023}, month={10}, keywords={Computer Science Education Primary School Challenges Curricula Educational Ecosystem Bulgaria}, doi={10.1007/978-3-031-44668-9_26} }- Georgi Tuparov
Daniela Tuparova
Year: 2023
The Ecosystem of Computer Science Education in Bulgarian Primary School – State of the Art
CSECS
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-44668-9_26
Abstract
Nowadays, many countries have started developing and implementing new curricula in the area of Computer Science (CS) as core or elective school subjects in different school levels. In Bulgaria a “Computer Modeling” course was introduced in 2016 for primary school in third and fourth grades (9–10-year-old). The new subject is directed towards basic concepts in Computer Science and programming in block-based environment.
This new school subject was (and partially continues to be) a challenge for all stakeholders in the educational area. Initially, it was a problem to provide enough prepared teachers and appropriate educational resources. Moreover, there are a lot of didactical problems such as the proper presentation of many abstract concepts in CS. In addition, the syllabi set relations to the mathematical concepts studied in the next grades such as negative numbers, coordinates, angles’ metrics, random numbers.
In the paper the components of the ecosystem of CS education in Bulgarian primary schools are presented. The syllabi, teacher training issues, educational institutions efforts and overall challenges are discussed. A crucial component in the successful implementation of the subject - teachers’ qualification, their experience, and competencies, is identified.
