From Potential to Practice: Training as a Promoter of Self-Efficacy in Computational Thinking for Pre-service Primary School Teachers

Background/purpose. Computational Thinking is a fundamental problem-solving skill. As its importance has been recognized by the scientific community, it has been incorporated into the curricula of several countries to foster its development from the earliest years of schooling. Therefore, it is essential to design training programs that equip teachers to integrate this skill into their practice. Since self-efficacy influences learning, these programs should include strategies to enhance participants' perception of self-efficacy.

Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate pre-service primary school teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy in Computational Thinking within the context of a training program implementation.

Materials/methods. A mixed-methods approach was followed to analyze the impact of the training program, implemented over nine months, on the perception of self-efficacy in Computational Thinking among 38 pre-service primary school teachers enrolled at a higher education institution in mainland Portugal. Quantitative data were collected using the Computational Thinking Self-Efficacy Scale at Pre- and Post-Intervention phases. Qualitative data were gathered throughout the intervention, including task resolutions, lesson plans, critical reflections, photography, videos, and transcriptions of audio records.

Results. The results revealed statistically significant differences in all four analyzed dimensions of self-efficacy (Abstraction, Reasoning, Decomposition, and Generalization) between the Pre-Intervention and Post-Intervention phases.

Conclusion. This study presents an approach that improves pre-service primary school teachers’ self-efficacy in Computational Thinking through the implementation of a training program within Initial Teacher Training.

Keywords: Computational thinking, Self-efficacy, Initial teacher training, Teacher Training Program, Primary School

References

Avcı, C., & Deniz, M. N. (2022). Computational thinking: early childhood teachers’ and prospective teachers’ preconceptions and self-efficacy. Education and Information Technologies, 27(8), 11689–11713. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11078-5

Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446221129.n6

Butler, D., & Leahy, M. (2021). Developing preservice teachers’ understanding of computational thinking: A constructionist approach. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(3), 1060–1077. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13090

Canavarro, A., Oliveira, H., & Menezes, L. (2012). Práticas de ensino exploratório da matemática: o caso de Célia. Investigação Em Educação Matemática, 255–266.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research Methods in Education (8th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315456539

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Dong, W., Li, Y., Sun, L., & Liu, Y. (2024). Developing pre-service teachers’ computational thinking: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 34(1), 191–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-023-09811-3

Espinal, A., Vieira, C., & Magana, A. (2024). Professional Development in Computational Thinking: A Systematic Literature Review. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.1145/3648477

Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

Freitas, Y., Martins, F., Moral-Sánchez, S., & Ruiz-Rey, F. (2025). Actions of a Trainee Teacher in Orchestrating Mathematical Discussions. Educational Process: International Journal, 14, e2025038. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2025.14.38

Grover, S., & Pea, R. (2013). Computational thinking in K–12: A review of the state of the field. Educational Researcher, 42(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12463051

Guo, R., Zheng, Y., & Miao, H. (2024). The influence of mind mapping on computational thinking skills and self-efficacy in students’ learning of graphical programming. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1479729

Haşlaman, T., Mumcu, F., & Uslu, N. (2024). Fostering computational thinking through digital storytelling: a distinctive approach to promoting computational thinking skills of pre-service teachers. Education and Information Technologies, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12583-5

Hsu, C.-Y., & Tsai, M.-J. (2024). Predicting Robotics Pedagogical Content Knowledge: The Role of Computational and Design Thinking Dispositions via Teaching Beliefs. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 62(5), 1159–1181. https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331241236882

Kukul, V., & Karatas, S. (2019). Computational thinking self-efficacy scale: Development, validity and reliability. Informatics in Education, 18(1), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2019.07

Li, X., Sang, G., Valcke, M., & van Braak, J. (2024). Computational thinking integrated into the English language curriculum in primary education: A systematic review. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12522-4

Lopes, J., Viegas, C., & Pinto, A. (2018). Melhorar Práticas de Ensino de Ciências e Tecnologia - Registar e Investigar com Narrações Multimodais. Edições Sílabo.

Macann, V., & Hartnett, M. (2025). Exploring the Influence of Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Computational Thinking Instruction. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 33(1), 37–66. https://doi.org/10.70725/055215qudqwf

Marôco, J. (2021). Análise Estatística com o SPSS Statistics (8a Edição). ReportNumber.

Martínez, M. L., Lévêque, O., Benítez, I., Hardebolle, C., & Zufferey, J. D. (2022). Assessing Computational Thinking: Development and Validation of the Algorithmic Thinking Test for Adults. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 60(6), 1436–1463. https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331211057819

Mason, S. L., & Rich, P. J. (2019). Preparing elementary school teachers to teach computing, coding, and computational thinking. In Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (Vol. 19, Issue 4, pp. 790–824).

Ministério da Educação. (2021). Aprendizagens essenciais de Matemática. Lisboa: ME.

Nordby, S. K., Bjerke, A. H., & Mifsud, L. (2022). Primary Mathematics Teachers’ Understanding of Computational Thinking. Kunstliche Intelligenz, 36(1), 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13218-021-00750-6

Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (Vol. 181, Issue 4). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003117452

Pestana, M. H., & Gageiro, J. N. (2014). Análise de dados para ciências sociais: A complementaridade do SPSS [Data analysis for social sciences: The complementarity of SPSS]. Edições Sílabo, Lda.

Pewkam, W., & Chamrat, S. (2022). Pre-Service Teacher Training Program of STEM-based Activities in Computing Science to Develop Computational Thinking. Informatics in Education, 21(2), 311–329. https://doi.org/10.15388/infedu.2022.09

Polat, E., Kadirhan, Z., Hopcan, S., Yildiz Durak, H., & Canbazoglu Bilici, S. (2025). Teaching Motivation of In‐Service Teachers, Professional Identity, and Self‐Efficacy for Teaching Computational Thinking. European Journal of Education, 60(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12928

Polat, H. (2022). Investigating the Relationships between Preservice Teachers’ Teacher Readiness, Attitude towards Teaching Profession, and Organizational Attraction through Structural Equation Modeling. Educational Process: International Journal, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2022.113.4

Ponte, J. P. (2012). Estudiando El Conocimiento Y El Desarrollo Profesional Del Profesorado De Matemáticas. In N. Planas (Ed.), Teoria, crítica y prática de la educación matemática (pp. 83–98). Graó.

Rao, T. S. S., & Bhagat, K. K. (2024). Computational thinking for the digital age: a systematic review of tools, pedagogical strategies, and assessment practices. Educational Technology Research and Development, 72(4), 1893–1924. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-024-10364-y

Rodrigues, R. N., Costa, C., Abbasi, M., Martins, F., & Brito-Costa, S. (2025). Self-efficacy in computational thinking: Preliminary analysis of pre-service teachers’ perception through a Portuguese tool. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 21(6), em2647. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/16507

Rodrigues, R. N., Costa, C., Brito-Costa, S., Abbasi, M., & Martins, F. (2025). Impact of a Training Program on Developing Computational Thinking in Pre-Service Primary School Teachers: From Theory to Practice. Educational Process: International Journal, 14, e2025037. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2025.14.37

Rodrigues, R. N., Costa, C., & Martins, F. (2024). Integration of computational thinking in initial teacher training for primary schools: a systematic review. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 9, Issue 1330065, pp. 1–8). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1330065

Román-González, M., Pérez-González, J.-C. C., & Jiménez-Fernández, C. (2017). Which cognitive abilities underlie computational thinking? Criterion validity of the Computational Thinking Test. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 678–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.08.047

Şen, Ş. (2023). Relations between preservice teachers’ self-efficacy, computational thinking skills and metacognitive self-regulation. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38(3), 1251–1269. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10212-022-00651-8

Shute, V. J., Sun, C., & Asbell-Clarke, J. (2017). Demystifying computational thinking. Educational Research Review, 22(October), 142–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.003

Silva, R., Costa, C., Freitas, Y., Martins, F., & Cebrián-de-la-Serna, M. (2024). Educational robotics and primary school mathematics teaching: An analysis of pre-service teachers didactic-mathematical knowledge. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(10), em2515. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/15199

Tankiz, E., & Atman Uslu, N. (2023). Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Computational Thinking Skills and its Teaching: A Convergent Mixed-Method Study. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 28(4), 1515–1537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-022-09593-y

Tariq, R., Aponte Babines, B. M., Ramirez, J., Alvarez-Icaza, I., & Naseer, F. (2025). Computational thinking in STEM education: current state-of-the-art and future research directions. Frontiers in Computer Science, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2024.1480404

Täschner, J., Dicke, T., Reinhold, S., & Holzberger, D. (2025). “Yes, I Can!” A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies Promoting Teacher Self-Efficacy. Review of Educational Research, 95(1), 3–52. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543231221499

Voon, X., Wong, S., Wong, L., Khambari, M., & Syed-Abdullah, S. (2022). Developing Computational Thinking Competencies through Constructivist Argumentation Learning: A Problem-Solving Perspective. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 12(6), 529–539. https://doi.org/10.18178/IJIET.2022.12.6.1650

Yun, M., & Crippen, K. J. (2024). Computational Thinking Integration into Pre-Service Science Teacher Education: A Systematic Review. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 36(2), 225–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2024.2390758

Announcement

EDUPIJ Citation Metrics

EDUPIJ News!