Programming in the curriculum for compulsory school: how is it represented in nordic countries?

In recent years, international school development initiatives have acknowledged the importance of digitalization in modern society, and school policy documents in many countries have been revised to incorporate digital competence, computational thinking (CT) and programming. The aim of this study was to examine and compare how and in what contexts Nordic curricula, Swedish and Norwegian in particular, embody aspects of computational thinking and programming. The texts have been analysed using a framework for computational thinking practices and a broader framework for digital competencies. Results show similarities with respect to the implementation of programming in the sense that it is primarily recognized as a method and tool for learning other subject content, and not as a knowledge domain on its own. Furthermore, it appears unclear to what extent and in what subject children should learn the fundamentals of programming. The results also indicate a fragmented approach to the wider notion of computational thinking, only parts of the practices defined in the CT framework used could be explicitly identified. In conclusion, the time and teacher competence required for providing students with functional skills in programming is under-communicated, leaving schools and teachers with major challenges