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On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

Infographic: Why we shouldn’t neglect computer-science education

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computer-science-infographic-01
Still not much of a K-12 thing. (NJIT)

 

I recently received this from a higher-ed marketer for the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a public research university.

Although it focuses on the need for more K-12 education in computer science, I was interested in the implications at the college level.

I've read articles questioning the need for computer-science degrees in college. But K-12 computer-science education must spark students' curiosity and guide them toward various tech degrees and certifications after graduation.

I asked the sender, Andrew Deen, what made him think computer science was being overlooked in the nationwide initiative that's pushing education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, commonly known as STEM.

He wrote back:

From what we've found, computer science is very rarely discussed (on the governmental level) in the STEM conversation.

If you checkout the leading voices in the STEM movement (http://www.stemedcoalition.org/, http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/educate-innovate, http://nms.org/Home.aspx) you'll be hard pressed to find any direct action concerning computer science education.

It is quite possibly our biggest need, yet 9 out of 10 schools still don't have a single computer science class.

I know some schools and districts are doing a great job infusing computer science early in the K-12 system, but as a whole it doesn't seem to be addressed very well in STEM efforts.

You may find some of the stats on the dearth of K-12 offerings surprising. They're about two-thirds of the way down the graphic.