CEPIS is a member of the European expert group dedicated to developing guidelines for high-quality informatics education. The group’s objective is to support the European Commission by crafting guidelines that promote high standards in school informatics education, allowing Member States to share experiences and showcase best practices. The Recommendation recognises informatics as a unique scientific discipline, complete with its own concepts, methodologies, body of knowledge, and open questions.
Background: Many European countries are currently implementing or advancing curricular reforms that include informatics teaching to some extent. Despite this progress, several challenges persist:
- Informatics is often accessible to only a limited number of students or is restricted to a narrow focus (e.g., coding);
- Schools face difficulties in recruiting and retaining teachers with a specialisation in informatics;
- There is a shortage of high-quality, unbiased, and inclusive teaching materials for informatics education;
- Traditional teaching approaches can perpetuate gender bias, especially when the subject is optional, with male students more likely to enrol than female students;
- There is a lack of effective assessment methods suited to informatics.
The guidelines that the group will develop will aim to foster a cohesive understanding of informatics education and to provide teachers and educators with pedagogical expertise and support. As a long-standing advocate for implementing a high-quality informatics education in Europe, CEPIS is very pleased to be able to represent its member societies in this group.
