Examination of the 8th grade students' self–efficacy perceptions towards computational thinking skills

Computers and mobile devices have become indispensable elements of our daily life, in which the digital world is growing. In other words, we live in a digital ecosystem filled with objects managed by digital software (Manovich, 2013). This development has had a profound impact on the economic and social life in society. As a result of this development today; individuals of all ages are expected to have some basic computer skills in line with the developments in technology (Wing, 2014). We must prepare the students for the future as individuals who are capable of using technology to solve problems. The aim of this study is to investigate the self-efficacy perceptions of 8th grade students about computational thinking skills. In this way, it is aimed for the students to make their personal evaluations about this skill. Brennan and Resnick (2012) emphasize that positive attitudes and perceptions are important in computational thinking and that people need to learn more about computer science. This self-assessment study aims to achieve this. In addition, students; The aim of this course is to examine the relationship between mathematics, science and technology, English, T.C. History of Revolution and Kemalism courses and the relationship between computational thinking and self-efficacy. In this way, it will be investigated which type of subject area is related to computational thinking skills for secondary school students. The study was conducted in quantitative screening model and single screening design. Gülbahar et al. (2018) developed the Self-Efficacy Perception Scale for Computational Thinking Skills for secondary school students. A total of 2247 8th grade students (1147 girls and 1100 boys) studying in İzmir in the 2018-2019 academic year constitute the sample of the study. As a result of the analyzes, the average self-efficacy perception score for the 8th grade students' computational thinking skills was found to be 80.01 out of 108 total scale points. It was found that the participants' perceptions of self-efficacy differed in favor of female students according to gender.