Do 3-8 Years Old Children Benefit from Computational Thinking Development? A Meta-Analysis

The interest in Computational Thinking (CT) development among young learners increases with the number of studies located in literature. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to address two main objectives: (a) the effectiveness of empirical interventions on the development of CT in children aged of 3-8 years; and (b) the variables that influence the effectiveness of the interventions. Following PRISMA procedures, we identified 17 empirical studies with 34 effect sizes and 1665 participants meeting the inclusion criteria from Web of Science database. Overall, we found a statistically significant large effect size (d = 0.83 [95% CI: 730, 0.890]; p < 0.001) on the CT development of 3-8 years old children, which provides empirical support for having young children to engage in CT experiences. The effect size was significantly influenced by moderating variables including gender, scaffolding, and education level. Intervention length showed a marginally significant effect. Therefore, educators could refer to the significant moderators when designing tailored interventions for CT development in early childhood education while a call for more empirical studies of CT development in young children is proposed.