Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content

Children’s programming environment acceptance: extending the boundary conditions to programming competition, computational thinking, and programming modality

  • Published:
Education and Information Technologies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While numerous studies have highlighted the potential benefits of programming environment (PE) use for children’s learning, the boundary conditions of children’s PE acceptance within the programming education context are less clear. This study fills this gap in the literature by investigating the critical determinants of children’s PE use intention and extending the boundary conditions to programming competition, computational thinking, and programming modality. A total of 1527 primary students participated in this study. Using structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses, the measurement model was validated, and the configural, metric and scalar invariance of the measurement model was established. The structural model was also confirmed, with most of the hypothesized relationships were supported. Multigroup SEM analyses were conducted to compare structural path coefficient differences across different personal moderators (i.e., gender, grade, and experience), environmental moderators (i.e., both parents’ education level), and PE use-relevant moderators (i.e., programming competition, computational thinking, and programming modality). The results revealed significant path differences in six group comparisons, with most of the path differences associated with perceived self-efficacy and perceived ease of use. It should be noted that no significant path differences were identified for the gender and programming competition group comparisons. This work serves as a pioneer study of a comprehensive understanding of the determinants and moderators of children’s PE use intention. The findings offer important theoretical implications through accommodating essential constructs within a PE acceptance framework and recommending effective strategies to improve primary students’ PE acceptance for programming learning in primary education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.

Data availability

Requests for data details may be made to the corresponding author. Active consent forms have been signed by the participants, and the research project has acquired ethical approval from the institution.

References

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend the gratitude to the participating schools, teachers, and students.

Funding

This work was supported by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation, China [Grant No. 2021A1515110081], Guangdong Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science, China [Grant No. GD22XJY12], Shenzhen Science, Technology and Innovation Commission, China [Grant No. 20220810115236001], Shenzhen Education Science Planning Project, China [Grant No. zdzz22008], Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University Research Grant, China [Grant No. 22GPNUZDJS09].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Miaoting Cheng: Conceptualization; Data curation; Writing – original draft, review & editing; Funding acquisition. Xiaoyan Lai: Formal analysis; Writing – original draft, review & editing. Da Tao: Writing –review & editing. Juntong Lai: Writing –review & editing. Jun Yang: Writing –review & editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoyan Lai.

Ethics declarations

Competing interest

No conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheng, M., Lai, X., Tao, D. et al. Children’s programming environment acceptance: extending the boundary conditions to programming competition, computational thinking, and programming modality. Educ Inf Technol 29, 939–969 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12325-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12325-z

Keywords