Who is Teaching Computer Science? Understanding Professional Identity of American Computer Science Teachers through a National Survey

ABSTRACT

Background & Context

Continuously developing teachers’ knowledge, practice, and professional identity is one of the key standards for effective computer science (CS) teachers.

Objective

This study aims to understand the landscape of CS teachers in the United States, the professional identity they hold, and how their background and teaching context are associated with their CS teacher identity.

Method

Using data of 3540 teachers, we performed a two-step cluster analysis to reveal homogeneous subgroups of CS teachers. The relationship between teachers’ backgrounds and their CS teacher identity was also assessed.

Findings

This study identified four profiles of CS teachers based on their professional identity. . CS teacher identity is strongly associated with teachers’ Computer Science Teachers Association membership, teaching responsibility, teaching experience, and their exposure to CS coursework.

Implications

More professional support is needed for CS teachers, especially for early-career CS teachers, elementary school teachers, and teachers with multiple responsibilities and little CS background.

KEYWORDS:

• Computer Science Teachers
• Teacher identity
• Teaching experience
• National survey

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all of the teachers who participated in this study and our colleagues Jason Bohrer, Bryan Twarek, and Alexis Martin for their support in the survey design and administration. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.1935302. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation [1935302]