COMPUTATIONAL THINKING PROGRAMS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Computational thinking (CT) describes a type of analytical thinking related to computer science and programming. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) have developed a definition to promote the inclusion of CT in education in the US. The goal of this systematic review is to describe the educational programs that teach CT in primary education (age range 6-14 years) published in indexed scientific journals, following the PRISMA guidelines. The search strategy was carried out in the following five databases: Dialnet, Psycinfo, Scopus, PyscNET and ERIC. A total of 40 articles met the inclusion criteria. The most used programing environment were Scratch (55%), unplugged activities (15%) and Code.org (10%). The software found worked several of the core PC competencies as defined by CSTA & ISTE. This systematic review collects and synthesizes for the first time the educational programs that have proven to be useful for working on CT in children aged 6 to 14 years and relates them to the CT standards established by CSTA, contributing to the knowledge of the tools available to use in the educational field.