K-12 CS Teacher Education: What are We Teaching and to Whom? How do We know We are Moving the Needle?

Over a decade ago, "Running on Empty: The Failure to Teach K-12 Computer Science in the Digital Age" (Wilson et al., 2010) compelled stakeholders in the United States to recognize the critical need for K-12 computer science (CS) education. The report highlighted the absence of K-12 CS courses due to the low number and inadequate preparation of K-12 CS teachers. CS teacher education remains as a roadblock to equitable access and achievement in CS education nationally.

In response, lawmakers have taken to incorporate CS education into their curriculums, either by adopting existing policies or creating new ones (Code.org, CSTA, & ECEP, 2023). However, achieving the integration of CS into schools necessitates ongoing systemic transformation (Dettori et al., 2018; Phelps & Santo, 2022). This comprehensive educational reform requires adequately preparing CS teachers and fostering supportive school environments (Reimer, 2019). Many schools continue to face challenges in offering CS courses due to a shortage of highly qualified CS-trained teachers. Consequently, they may hire teachers with limited CS content knowledge and teaching experience, or they are unable to offer CS courses at all (Bruno & Lewis, 2022; Parker, 2023). These outcomes perpetuate inequities in who has access to high-quality CS education and student achievement (Bruno & Lewis, 2021; Ladner & Israel, 2016). Therefore, this BoF seeks to bring together researchers, teachers, and teacher education providers to better understand the ways in which CS teacher education is enacted and begin developing best practices for the field.