About this Research Topic
The active participation of individuals in life during this digital age necessitates having digital skills, also called 21st-century skills. Gaining coding and computational thinking skills, which include the basic concepts of digital literacy and computer science, in the early years is an essential factor for individuals to use technology productively, actively, and creatively in the future. At the same time, these skills are expressed as an area where individuals need to specialize in addition to the professional skills they will have in the future. For this reason, there has been an increasing interest in the education of coding, computational thinking, and ICT skills to support children in computer science in the early years. In this regard, many countries are making great efforts to integrate these skills into their curricula and transform their learning and teaching processes. Coding and computational thinking skills, seen as a new language of the digital age, are among the essential skills children should acquire in their early years. These are crucial skills that all individuals should develop, not just those working in the computer science field. These skills positively contribute to all areas of development, especially children's mental skills.
For this reason, education programs, teaching methods and techniques, and many materials, especially robotics, for coding, computational thinking, and ICT, in which children will use technology as a communication tool in the early years, are increasingly emphasized and are rapidly being developed and beginning to be transferred to the educational processes. Although many studies have been done in the last two decades, there is still no consensus on the scope of these skills. Studies on these skills in early childhood, which is a particular field due to its developmental needs, are still in their infancy, and there is a need for research and applications on what these skills should cover and how they will be taught. For this reason, the topics to be discussed in this Research Topic should contribute to this rapidly increasing field and further support the studies on the development and education of coding skills, computational thinking, robotics, and ICT, in early childhood.
Researchers should aim to submit articles that highlight coding, numerical thinking, and ICT skills, in early childhood in relation to;
1) The applications, methods, techniques, materials, and evaluation processes used
2) How it is integrated into educational programs
3) The use and effectiveness of robotics in gaining these skills
4) Teacher attitudes, skills and competencies, and teacher training for these skills
5) Family involvement
6) Studies to reveal the relationship of these skills with other areas of development.
For this reason, education programs, teaching methods and techniques, and many materials, especially robotics, for coding, computational thinking, and ICT, in which children will use technology as a communication tool in the early years, are increasingly emphasized and are rapidly being developed and beginning to be transferred to the educational processes. Although many studies have been done in the last two decades, there is still no consensus on the scope of these skills. Studies on these skills in early childhood, which is a particular field due to its developmental needs, are still in their infancy, and there is a need for research and applications on what these skills should cover and how they will be taught. For this reason, the topics to be discussed in this Research Topic should contribute to this rapidly increasing field and further support the studies on the development and education of coding skills, computational thinking, robotics, and ICT, in early childhood.
Researchers should aim to submit articles that highlight coding, numerical thinking, and ICT skills, in early childhood in relation to;
1) The applications, methods, techniques, materials, and evaluation processes used
2) How it is integrated into educational programs
3) The use and effectiveness of robotics in gaining these skills
4) Teacher attitudes, skills and competencies, and teacher training for these skills
5) Family involvement
6) Studies to reveal the relationship of these skills with other areas of development.
Keywords: early childhood, coding, computational thinking, robotics, ICT
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
