84% of parents and young people in Spain believe that computing should be incorporated as a compulsory subject in Primary and Secondary Education. This is indicated by the results of the Computing Observatory in Spain report, prepared jointly by Code.org and Deloitte, which was presented this Tuesday at the Sony Auditorium of the Albéniz Foundation. In addition, 73% of those interviewed consider that training young people at an early age in computing would be key to filling jobs that are currently not covered.
The study incorporates the analysis of the responses of more than 2,000 people on the incidence and satisfaction with learning computer science among parents with children between 6 and 16 years of age and young people between 16 and 24 years of age. According to the results, young people are the least aware of the study of this discipline, with 80% agreeing to learn it.
In general terms, 90% consider it quite or very important that computer science be taught in Secondary Education and 9 out of 10 interviewees believe that the study of computer science favors the ability to solve problems, logical reasoning or structured thinking.
On the other hand, 19% believe that it would be important to teach it in Vocational Training (FP) centers, while 12% believe that this subject should be taught in extracurricular activities in schools. Only 11% believe that computer science should only be taught in universities.
The publication concludes that, from the point of view of high school students, the approach to computing as a subject has not helped to approach the subject or to fully understand its usefulness, remaining on superficial concepts such as laptops, Social Networks or mobile apps. In this way, the report reveals a discreet level of satisfaction among young people between 16 and 24 years of age with the training received, rating it 6 out of 10.
Along these lines, 66% of the girls and 49% of the boys in the same age segment declare that they have not learned subjects such as programming or the creation and use of algorithms. Of this group, 39% of young people who have not learned programming say that they have not done so because they consider training in other types of knowledge a priority, such as languages or office automation.
Code.org and Deloitte signed a collaboration agreement yesterday in 2021 with the aim of promoting computer programming in the Spanish educational system and this document is the first result of this alliance.
At the opening of the presentation, Héctor Flórez, president of Deloitte Spain, highlighted that “our purpose goes far beyond helping companies in their most complex transformation processes; it also contemplates supporting initiatives for social improvement and developing professionals with the capacity to transform society and have a positive impact on the world". For his part, Leo Ortiz, vice president of international alliances at Code.org, has pointed out that "the advent of artificial intelligence and automation in all areas of society make it even more urgent to update educational processes, so that all students know better how the world works and acquire critical knowledge to participate in an increasingly digital reality”.
