Publication Date

10-21-2025

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Title

Comped 2025 Proceedings of the ACM Global Computing Education Conference 2025

Volume

1

DOI

10.1145/3736181.3747121

First Page

282

Last Page

288

Abstract

The delivery of culturally relevant content in K-12 computing education is widely recognized as essential for engaging students and fostering meaningful learning experiences. However, in many African contexts, K-12 computing teachers feel unprepared to address this need. Course materials often fail to reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the students they serve. In this study, we conducted participatory design sessions with education stakeholders, including primary and secondary school teachers, to develop culturally relevant programming activities for a national programming outreach initiative in Botswana. Our findings emphasize the importance of relatable examples and a balanced approach to integrating cultural elements into learning materials. Challenges, such as diverse dialects and difficulties with direct translation, led stakeholders to adopt a bilingual approach to the initiative. This research contributes insights into the complexities of integrating culturally relevant programming languages and course materials and highlights the need for flexibility and adaptability. The implications of this study include the need for cross-regional research collaborations, teacher training and guidelines, and empowering teachers to effectively integrate cultural elements, promoting inclusivity and cultural responsiveness in programming education.

Funding Number

DGE-2241144

Funding Sponsor

National Science Foundation

Keywords

bilingualism, contextualization, cultural relevance, k-12, teachers

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Computer Science

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