The Role of Executive Function and Self-Regulation in the Development of Computational Thinking

Introduction

As other chapters in this book will attest, coding is becoming an increasingly essential skill. As Bers references in Chapter 1, “there are an estimated 500,000 openings for computing jobs nationwide, and a lack of adequately trained people to fill them (Code.org, 2018; Fayer, Lacey, & Watson, 2017).” While job training and 21^st century skill development is one reason to advocate for coding education, I argue adoption of a computational thinking curriculum in early childhood by educators, parents, and children is much more likely when coding is connected to other aspects of the early childhood curriculum. More specifically, connecting computational thinking to core academic domains like math and literacy as well as the development of cognitive skills, such as executive function and self-regulation.

When integrating computational thinking into classroom through educational technologies, it is important to note that technological tools are artifacts mediated by social groups and cultural mores (Moll, 2014). Younger children do not provide themselves with the digital technologies in their lives; parents, families, and schools are the ones to make the purchases or hand the child the devices (Gutnick, A. L., Robb, M., Takeuchi, L., & Kotler, J., 2010). The technological tools the child is exposed to are influenced by societal and cultural factors. Furthermore, socioeconomic status of families not only underpins digital divide, but is also a predictor of all domains of executive function (Mulker Greenfader, 2019). Schools can play a key role in narrowing digital gaps, providing more equal opportunities for technology devices, exposure to computational thinking, and the development of executive function skills.

My early research focused on connections between coding and literacy (Kazakoff & Bers, 2012; Kazakoff, Sullivan, & Bers, 2013; Kazakoff & Bers, 2015). My 2014 dissertation, Cats in Space, Pigs Who Race: Does self-regulation play a role when kindergartners learn to code? was one of the first studies to examine executive function within the context of the development of computational thinking and coding skills in early childhood. Self-regulation (controlling ones behaviors) and executive function (directing ones thoughts and behaviors towards a problem solving goal) are also skills seen by educators and parents as desirable for traditional ideas of kindergarten readiness (Center for the Developing Child, n.d.; Finders, et. al., 2021).

My work specifically focused on the consideration of the role self-regulation plays when learning to code. This work was inspired by several years of interactions with young children and digital tools, where it became clear to me there were many factors that determined how well children learned novel technologies and coding languages. As an illustrative example, take Danielle and Jennifer, whom I met early in my research.