Computer Science Education and 21st Century Skills for the New Digital Economy

• In Event: From Critical Race Theory to Innovation Schools: Critical Policy Analyses at Multiple Levels of Governance

Abstract

Increasingly, career readiness at the K-12 level involves advancing computer science (CS) curriculum. This paper considers political initiatives at federal, state, and local levels to expand CS education for all students. In excavating the construction of President Obama’s Computer Science For All presidential initiative, this paper evaluates federal education legislation that precedes and contributes to shifting vocational education objectives into mainstream general education; the discursive and material practices of private and elected political actors who advocate for and invest in the expansion of CS education; and the normative limitations of narrowing the purpose of education around workforce training. This paper concludes that expanded CS education reflects the articulated concerns and objectives of certain elite and influential political actors.

Author

• Nora Reikosky, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author