K12 Computer Science Teachers’ Attitudes Toward a Foundational Assumption of Ethnocomputing

Ethnocomputing describes the study of computational ideas and thinking as they appear in the artifacts, epistemologies, designs, and practices of temporally and spatially situated communities (e.g., from computational scientists to textile artisans). It is also about how such communities embed their beliefs and values within computational artifacts. One outcome of ethnocomputing research is the demonstration of how Indigenous and diasporic communities have dynamic computational histories and innovations that are relevant to computer science and computer science education today. From lessons on e-textiles and Native American botanical knowledge to visual programming environments that reveal the algorithms of cornrow braiding in the Black diaspora, this has allowed for anti-racist challenges to white supremacist myths of primitivism in primary and secondary computer science education. While there are studies about how ethnocomputing tools and lessons shape children’s attitudes toward and knowledge of computing, there is no research on what computer science teachers think about one of ethnocomputing’s foundational assumptions: computational ideas and thinking are embedded within Indigenous and vernacular artifacts, epistemologies, designs, and practices. This paper reports findings from interviews with 14 K12 computer science teachers who had been exposed to ethnocomputing educational technologies and activities. From our qualitative analyses, we found that most (n=12) teachers believed that Indigenous and/or vernacular artisans think computationally. We detail their lines of reasoning before turning toward teachers who had ambivalent (n=1) or negative (n=1) positions about this assumption of ethnocomputing research. We discuss the implications of these findings for anti-racist K12 computer science teacher professional development.