Title:
Preparing Future Kindergarten Teachers for Humanistic and Values-Based Coding Education: A CAL ScratchJr Approach in Teacher Preparation [Download]Authors:
Stamatios Papadakis
Index Terms:
Abstract:
Computational thinking (CT) and coding are increasingly recognized as foundational literacies that shape how children think, communicate, and participate in digital society. Yet in early childhood education, they are still too often taught as isolated technical skills rather than as expressive tools for creativity, ethical reflection, and civic engagement. This paper presents a university seminar for preservice kindergarten teachers built around the Coding as Another Language (CAL) framework and the ScratchJr environment. Grounded in constructionism, socio-emotional learning (SEL), and the Positive Technological Development (PTD) framework, CAL reframes coding as a language through which children can tell stories, explore values such as empathy and justice, and critically engage with technology. The seminar integrates unplugged and plugged activities, design-based learning principles, reflective practice, and culturally contextualized materials to help future educators design and facilitate values-oriented coding experiences. Analysis of student reflections, project work, and instructor observations shows how preservice teachers’ conceptions of coding evolve from procedural skills to a broader humanistic literacy. Their reflections reveal a marked shift in how they understand coding’s expressive, ethical, and pedagogical potential before and after the course. Situated within current research on CT, curriculum design, and multidimensional assessment, the paper argues for sustainable teacher preparation models that treat coding as both a cognitive tool and a medium for fostering human values, critical thinking, and inclusive participation from the earliest years.
DOI:
How to cite:
Stamatios Papadakis, "Preparing Future Kindergarten Teachers for Humanistic and Values-Based Coding Education: A CAL ScratchJr Approach in Teacher Preparation", IEEE-RITA, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 139-149, Jan. 2026. doi: 10.1109/RITA.2026.3666770