Keywords

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

This study highlights the importance of early programming education for primary students, fostering digital understanding and future skills. However, in UAE schools, challenges persist. Some parents view programming as a supplementary skill, potentially neglecting it for subjects like math and physics. UAE's educational policies should integrate programming widely in the primary curriculum, educating parents about its benefits to combat passive technology consumption.

1.2 Study Purpose and Questions

This study's primary goal is exploring parental awareness and viewpoints on programming education. It addresses these research questions:

  • How do parents view primary student programming education?

  • Do parents recognize programming's importance?

  • Can primary students grasp taught programming concepts easily?

  • To what degree do parents cooperate in implementing proposed solutions to enhance programming teaching?

2 Literature View

2.1 Theoretical Framework

2.1.1 TAM (Davis, 1989)

Davis's Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is highly relevant to our study's goal. TAM centers on two key factors influencing one's openness to adopting new technology: perceived usefulness and ease of use. These factors impact consumers’ attitudes towards new tech and subsequently, their intention to use it (Cheng 2019). Parents who find coding unimportant and challenging might not support their kids in learning it. Conversely, if parents recognize coding's value and simplicity, they're more likely to encourage their kids. Some parents might not promote programming due to misconceptions about its complexity. Other TAM components include attitudes toward usage, reflecting the user's inclination to employ the technology. The blend of perceived usefulness and actual usage predicts the utilization attitude (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1.
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Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989)

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2.1.2 Papert’s Constructionism Theory (1972, 1980)

In his constructionism theory, extensively documented in technology literature, Papert (1972) suggests kids program computers, not vice versa. He introduced computational thinking, highlighting its empowerment potential. By granting children computer access, a user-friendly programming language, and peripherals for real-time actions, we offer them unparalleled ability for inventive, engaging projects.

These theoretical approaches go well together to serve the goal of this study, which is to consider programming as a critical skill for students’ academic and future success.

2.2 The Importance of Programming

2.2.1 Programming Impacts on Students’ Academic Development

Programming expedites cognitive development (Brackmann et al. 2017; Zhang & Nouri 2019), comparable to reading and writing as observed by Manches & Plowman (2017). It cultivates skills in science, math (Turan & Aydoğdu 2020; Scherer, Siddiq & Sanchez 2018), and STEM (Gunbatar & Karalar 2018; Master et al. 2017; Kucuk & Sisman 2017). Additionally, it unveils computer functions (Arfé et al. 2019; Manita, Durão & Aguiar 2021; Relkin, de Ruiter & Bers 2021 ; Román-González, Pérez-González & Jiménez-Fernández 2017). Psycharis & Kallia (2017) indicated coding enhances cognitive skills applicable to disciplines like Math, Engineering, and Science. Learning coding fosters critical thinking, social skills, problem-solving, and self-management (Popat & Starkey 2019; Schanzer, Fisler & Krishnamurti 2018; Scherer, Siddiq & Sanchez 2018). Psycharis and Kallia (2017) confirmed this via a quasi-experiment, noting heightened reasoning and math self-efficacy through the programming course.

2.2.2 Programming Impacts on Students’ Future Achievement

According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (2022), information technology jobs will grow by 13 percent over the next decade, far faster than the average for all occupations. Similarly, Sheehan et al. (2019) maintain that the number of jobs in the information technology industry will increase by 12.5% over the next decade; correspondingly, the inclusion of computational thinking in school curricula should increase. Although perceptions of future jobs and competencies required for Industry 4.0-induced changes differ, there is widespread agreement that job profiles related to programming, mechatronics, robotics, data analysis, Internet of Things, design and maintenance of smart systems, process analysis, and bionics are the new job profiles required in smart factory systems (Jerman, Pejić & Aleksić 2020; Benešová & Tupa 2017; Tytler et al. 2019).

2.3 Programming Status in Educational Policies

Numerous countries promote coding in schools. The UK, US, Finland, Australia, Greece, and France have mandated programming from primary school (Rich et al. 2019). Obama's “Computer Science for All” initiative (2016) aimed to equip US students for the digital economy (Price & Price-Mohr 2018; Tran 2018). Trump's administration allocated $200M yearly, aided by Amazon, Facebook, and Google (Dickey 2017). England integrates coding into its National Curriculum (Williamson et al. 2019). Australia embraced coding with a $9M centre for teacher training (Williamson et al. 2019). Japan, Korea, and the UAE emphasize coding too.

Regarding the UAE, the Ministry of Education (2015) underscored coding's importance within the UAE Vision 2021, which prioritizes science, technology, and innovation as key drivers of growth and development. Ongoing efforts aim to adapt to sector advancements, aligning educational outcomes with global standards. Yet, there's uncertainty on how coding skills are taught, particularly in primary schools. The demand for a precise policy and strategic framework for their educational implementation and delivery is pronounced.

3 Methodology

3.1 Research Design

This study utilises a quantitative approach to report on parents’ perspectives of the programming being taught to primary students at UAE schools.

3.2 Questionnaire Method Selection

The present research utilizes a Likert-type questionnaire using a five-point agreement scale (ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree). A customized survey was given to parents having children in UAE primary schools. Google Forms was chosen for generating online questionnaires due to its simplicity for coding. In the questionnaire, “strongly agree” reflects full agreement, while “strongly disagree” signifies complete disagreement.

3.3 Sample Selection

The questionnaire was given to parents, not students, to avoid exposing young children to Likert-scale questions (Zeman et al. 2006). Children's emotional development is intertwined with other aspects, raising doubts about their understanding of such scales. The sample size choice is complex due to the unknown UAE parent population size. For unknown populations, the infinite population sample size formula is used, factoring in confidence level (95%), Z score (1.96), proportion (50% = 0.5), and margin of error (5% = 0.05). The formula: S = Z2 × P × (1 − P)/M2 Resulting in: S = 3.8416 × 0.25/0.0025 S = 384.16 Thus, 384.16 participants represent UAE's unknown parent population.

3.4 Quantitative Data Analysis

The statistical information from the questionnaire was processed using SPSS version 23. The study involved 499 participants (70% mothers and 30% fathers) aged between 25 and 45. To enhance validity, responses indicating strong agreement or agreement were considered. A portion of these participants also offered valuable insights and suggestions through open-ended questions, which were integrated into the study's outcomes.

4 Data Analysis and Results

4.1 Quantitative Results

Gathered quantitative datasets underwent analysis through SPSS. The responses were tallied to determine the count and percentage of similar responses. The initial four questions aimed to gather demographic information, succeeded by nine Likert-scale questions. Using a five-point scale, these nine items were divided into five categories, each requiring a corresponding response (ranging from strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, to strongly disagree). The participant pool consisted of 499 parents (445 mothers and 54 fathers), with a gender distribution of 89% females and 11% males (Table 1).

Table 1. Demographics of parents
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The outcomes of the initial inquiry indicate that a majority of respondents recognize programming's significance. Nevertheless, 7.6% expressed uncertainty, 2.4% disagreed, and 0.4% strongly disagreed (Table 2).

Table 2. Programming Impact
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Fig. 2.
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Programming Impact

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The following query is: Are parents aware of programming's utility? The level of agreement reaches 89.9%, while 7.2% remain neutral and 3% disagree with instructing young students in programming (Fig. 2, Table 3).

Table 3. Programming Necessity
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Fig. 3.
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Programming Necessity

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Question three queried participants about programming's clarity in their kids’ school. Scores ranged from 1 (strongly disagreed) to 5 (strongly agreed), reversed for clarity assessment. A “positive” response was if “strongly disagreed” or “disagreed” in the reversed question. Roughly 50% found the purpose unclear, 29.3% were neutral, and 19.2% felt clarity regarding programming's goal in their children's school (Fig. 3, Table 4).

Table 4. Programming Goal (Reverse)
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The fourth inquiry aims to confirm the appropriateness of the programming curriculum. The diagram below illustrates the correlation between the school curriculum and children's ability to grasp it (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4.
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Relationship Map

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Unexpectedly, a considerable number of parents indicated that their children could readily grasp programming topics in school. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction ratios were similar across all schools. Ministerial schools had the highest satisfaction at 60%. British schools scored 55.4% and American schools followed at 58.1%. Importantly, a clear programming goal correlated with students’ understanding. Clarity on coding's purpose led to better comprehension in schools (Table 5).

Table 5. Correlation.1
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Questions five and six validate the recommendation's viability. Can parents support kids with external guidance or need workshops? 65% can assist, 16.6% cannot guide in programming (Table 6).

Table 6. Programming Guidance
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While many parents claim they can guide their children, 90.4% agree training is needed for programming assistance. 6.8% are uncertain, and 2.8% disagree (Table 7).

Table 7. The need for programming workshop
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Fig. 5.
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The need for programming workshop

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The last questions address the second recommendation: dedicating more time and resources to programming and making it mandatory to cover all concepts. High agreement was seen in both questions (93.4% and 85.8%) (Fig. 5, Table 8).

Table 8. Time and Resources
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Table 9. New Programming Subject
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Items in the questionnaire were split into “programming value perception” and “recommended education enhancements”. SPSS's “compute variables” function combined related items in each category into single variables. “Perception” summed parents’ grasp of programming's value. Similarly, “recommendations” reflected their support for researcher-suggested solutions. Table 11 illustrates the positive link between understanding programming's importance and backing proposed solutions (Table 9, Table 10).

Table 10. Correlation.2
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The researcher included an elective open-ended question at the questionnaire's conclusion, inviting participants to share any thoughts or suggestions. Several participants shared their insights and recommendations, which have been taken into account in the study's findings.

5 Discussion of the Results

The paper underscores programming's skill-enhancing importance and explores parents’ awareness and views on programming education, proposing solutions for improved implementation in UAE primary schools. Questionnaire outcomes, discussed within the study's scope, revealed most parents recognizing programming's value, though a few were uncertain. Some parents displayed confusion, with one associating programming with TV shows like Netflix. This highlights a misunderstanding of programming. Responses to the third question indicated unclear school programming goals, possibly affecting student motivation. While most parents believed primary school children could comprehend the curriculum, their overall confusion casts doubt on this. Some parents felt capable of aiding their kids in programming, but many acknowledged the need for training. As for dedicating more resources and time to programming education and introducing it as a distinct subject, there was widespread agreement and minimal disagreement among parents.

6 Conclusion

6.1 Major Findings

This study highlights coding's importance for primary students and aims to gauge parental awareness and students’ grasp of programming concepts. The intention is to prompt officials and decision-makers to enhance this learning process. Most parents affirmed their children's enjoyment and understanding of programming curriculum. Some parents, however, confuse programming with technology. A majority recognized the need for training. Agreement was unanimous for dedicating more resources and time to programming education and making it a separate subject. In conclusion, this study echoes Papert's constructionism theory, emphasizing students programming computers. Learning coding empowers students to control technology, aligning with developed nations’ focus on programming education. Comparatively, UAE's policies lack in this area, urging educational policy adjustments and parental awareness to support students effectively.

7 Implications for Action

Based on these findings, this study suggests several actions to enhance programming learning:

  • Boost parental understanding of programming's importance and benefits for students through workshops.

  • Develop a curriculum suited to their comprehension level, facilitating gradual progression.

  • Integrate programming with other subjects for holistic learning.

  • On a larger scale, the Ministry of Education should consider establishing a separate core subject solely for programming, distinct from ICT, covering all principles and skills.

8 Limitations and Future Recommendations

While this study contributes significantly, there are limitations affecting its validity and generalizability. Firstly, some participants misunderstood programming, influencing their responses. Addressing this, future research should clarify the concept beforehand and inquire about participants’ educational background. Additionally, teacher experience and effectiveness were overlooked, which can impact learning. Future research should assess teachers’ coding teaching skills. Moreover, exploring coding's integration with subjects like math and science could be explored in subsequent studies.