Early Childhood Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Computer Science, Gender Stereotypes, and Coding in Early Childhood Education

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate early childhood preservice teachers’ perceptions of computer science and gender stereotypes in computer science, and perceptions of coding in early childhood education. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from early childhood preservice teachers enrolled in a teaching methods course at a large southeastern university in the U.S. Findings showed that participants had misconceptions about what CS is and what computer scientists do. They were also neutral about coding and its integration in early childhood education. Both qualitative and quantitative data supported that the participants did not hold gender stereotypes in CS.