Enhancing computational thinking skills in informatics in secondary education: the case of South Korea

The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching–learning process of informatics education in South Korea, where an informatics education initiative was recently announced for K-12 education. Based on this initiative, this study aimed to investigate the effect of academic self-efficacy, teacher support, and a deep approach to learning computational thinking. The participants were 84 freshman students at a lower secondary school enrolled in a regular informatics class during Spring 2018. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data. The key findings were as follows: first, academic self-efficacy and teacher support had a significant influence on a deep approach to learning. Second, academic self-efficacy and a deep approach to learning had a significant influence on computational thinking. This study suggests implications for enhancing computational thinking skills in informatics in secondary education.