Analysis And Comparison of Computational Thinking Skills of Elementary School Students in Science Learning on Ecosystem and Food Chain Materials in Public And Private Schools
Keywords:
computational thinking, science learning, food chain, ecosystems, primary schools, public and private schoolsAbstract
Background: Computational thinking (CT) has become an essential competency in twenty-first-century education and is increasingly integrated into elementary science learning. Ecosystem and food chain topics provide opportunities for students to analyze relationships, identify patterns, and apply systematic reasoning. However, comparative studies examining computational thinking among public and private elementary school students within science learning contexts remain limited.
Methods: This study employed a quantitative comparative design involving 29 fifth-grade students from one public elementary school and one private elementary school in Purwakarta, Indonesia. Data were collected using Data were collected using an eight-item open-ended test selected from an initial pool of 16 items through expert validation and empirical testing designed to assess four dimensions of computational thinking: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking. Descriptive statistics and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to analyze the data.
Results: The findings revealed that private school students achieved higher computational thinking scores than public school students. Among the four dimensions, abstraction showed the highest level of achievement, whereas algorithmic thinking demonstrated the lowest performance. Statistical analysis indicated a significant difference in computational thinking skills between the two groups (p = 0.008), suggesting that differences in learning experiences may be associated with differences in computational thinking development.
Conclusion: The study highlights the potential of ecosystem and food chain learning as a meaningful context for fostering computational thinking in elementary science education. The findings also emphasize the importance of providing structured learning experiences, including problem-solving and coding-related activities, to support the development of computational thinking skills among elementary school students.
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