Guest Editors: Roxana Hadad, University of California at Los Angeles
Frieda McAlear, Kapor Center
Shana V. White, Kapor Center
Because educational systems are recognizing the growing importance of students developing 21st century skills that will help them participate more fully in their communities, a larger emphasis is being placed on computational thinking, or CT. CT is the thought processes involved in formulating problems and their solutions so that the solutions can be carried out by a computer (Cuny et al., 2010). The K–12 Computer Science Framework includes CT as the “heart of the computer science practices,” and articulates CT as (a) recognizing and defining computational problems; (b) developing and using abstractions; (c) creating computational artifacts; (d) testing and refining computational artifacts. The practices of (a) recognizing and defining computational problems and (b) testing and refining computational artifacts are what make CT inherently culturally responsive-sustaining. These practices require a critical lens, encouraging the designer or developer of an artifact to not just ask, “Is this product effective in solving the problem?” but also, “Who does this product serve? Who does it impact? Who benefits? Who does not?”
Culturally relevant/responsive/sustaining pedagogy makes learning more relevant to and effective for historically marginalized communities. Culturally relevant education focuses on developing students’ (1) academic achievement, (2) cultural competence, and (3) critical consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Culturally responsive education centers ethnic identity, cultural background, and student achievement by building on the cultural strengths, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of students (Gay, 2010). Both culturally relevant and culturally responsive pedagogies are focused on students’ understanding of the social, political, and historical knowledge to challenge and critique what they experience in and out of the classroom. Culturally sustaining pedagogy builds upon culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy and seeks to perpetuate and foster linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism to sustain the cultural practices of Black and Brown communities (Paris, 2012).
The Kapor Center offers a framework for culturally responsive-sustaining pedagogy specifically for computing education, stating that implementing this pedagogical framing “ensures that students’ interests, identities, and cultures are embraced and validated, students develop knowledge of computing content and its utility in the world, strong CS identities are developed, and students engage in larger socio-political critiques about technology’s purpose, potential and impact.” In this call, we will use the term “culturally responsive-sustaining,” but because of the interrelatedness of the various terms associated with this pedagogical focus, invite authors to use the term that best represents their research.
In order for teachers to be successful at implementing a culturally responsive curriculum in their classroom, they need to build trust with their students; become culturally literate; build different methodological approaches; use effective questioning techniques that promote critical thinking processes; provide effective feedback; analyze instructional materials; and establish positive home-school relations (Sparks, 1994). These are challenging areas to develop for any professional, much less in the current social climate where many times this kind of interrogation is viewed as being “controversial” or “overly political.”
In this special issue of the Journal of Computer Science Integration (JCSI), we seek contributions that deepen conceptualizations of culturally responsive-sustaining pedagogies in CT practices and concepts. Submissions may attend to the multiple ways CT is integrated into learning spaces and content areas utilizing a culturally responsive-sustaining lens. We encourage submissions that inform the integration of CT formally or informally. Although authors are not required to explore Kapor Center’s Framework, this special issue acknowledges the significance of their contribution to the field of computer science and computational thinking as foundational to addressing the current socio-political climate and meeting the needs of racially minoritized learners. We welcome submissions from various research orientations, such as empirical studies, case studies, and theoretical foundations that examine computational thinking practices that highlight culturally responsive pedagogies and Black, Latine, Native, and indigenous learners.
This call seeks manuscripts that address the following types of questions:
How do practitioners engage in culturally responsive/-sustaining practices in a classroom that integrates computer science/computational thinking?
What barriers prevent the effective implementation of culturally responsive-sustaining practices in a classroom that integrates computer science/computational thinking?
What are the policies and practices that support learners’ identity development, both culturally and academically in computer science/computational thinking instruction?
How does computational thinking support learners’ development of socially responsible artifacts that align with the values and practices of their own culture?
What role does professional development play in supporting teachers acquisition and implementation of culturally responsive-sustaining pedagogies in classrooms that
integrate computer science/computational thinking?
Timeline
June 1, 2022: Submissions due for a 500-word abstract, that includes an overview of the manuscript, to jcsi@redlands.edu with SE: CRSP in the subject line. References not included in word count.
July 1, 2022: Notifications of accepted abstracts sent to potential authors.
August 15, 2022: Submission of full manuscripts to https://jcsi.redlands.edu/ for peer-review.
November 15, 2022: Final decisions and/or revisions sent to authors.
January 15, 2023: Final manuscripts submitted to https://jcsi.redlands.edu/.
January 30, 2023: Special Issue available online at https://jcsi.redlands.edu/.
February 1, 2023: Call for K-12 practitioner contributions and article responses.
March 1, 2023 - May 1, 2023: Practitioner meetings to discuss contributions.
November 1, 2023: Practitioner submissions of contributions to https://jcsi.redlands.edu/.
Submission Guidelines
For details related to submission guidelines, please visit the Journal of Computer Science Integration’s submissions page: https://jcsi.redlands.edu/about/submissions/
References
Cuny, J., Snyder, L., & Wing, J.M. (2010). Demystifying computational thinking for non-computer scientists. Referenced in
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~CompThink/resources/TheLinkWing.pdf
Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice [2nd ed.]. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Kapor Center. (2021). The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Computer Science Education Framework.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491.
Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97.
Sparks III, W.G. (1994). Culturally responsive pedagogy: A framework for addressing multicultural issues. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 65(9), 33-61.
Posted on 02 May 2022
Posted on 07 Jun 2021