Exploring Coding Attitudes of Chinese Elementary Students: A Preliminary Study

Computational thinking (CT) has been integrated into K-12 curricula globally, and coding has been the main vehicle in CT education. While great effort has been made in exploring cognitive effect of coding, limited has been done in attitudinal aspects. To bridge this gap, this study validated the existing Elementary Student Coding Attitudes Survey (ESCAS) in Chinese context and use the scale to explore how students perceived coding. Also, the association between coding attitude and CT performance was investigated. A total of 217 elementary students were involved. Psychometric qualities of ESCAS (Chinese) were examined, and the effect of coding attitudes on CT cognitive performance was analyzed with linear regression. Results showed that ESCAS (Chinese) was a valid and reliable attitudinal scale, and coding interest could predict CT performance. Future directions for the study were discussed.