Who’s Who in High School Computer Science Textbooks in Taiwan

Abstract

The scientists mentioned in a computer science textbook represent the significance of their contribution to the field. By learning about the life of the scientists and the societal and cultural background at the time, students learn not only science knowledge but also how science interacts with human life. This study examines how computer scientists presented in high school computer science textbooks in Taiwan. A total of 13 high school computer science textbooks endorsed by the Ministry of Education are analyzed. The analysis results show that: (1) The most mentioned computer scientists in the textbooks are Linus Torvalds (eight books mentioned), Dennis Ritchie (six books mentioned), and John von Neumann (six books mentioned); (2) The textbooks mentioned the most scientists in the field of Programming, followed by hardware, software and operating systems; (3) The time computer scientists most often mentioned is after digital computers were invented (1946), followed by the 1900s; (4) Descriptions of computer scientists are relatively brief, and most of them only describe the scientists’ contributions to the fields. Factors affecting the presentation of computer scientists in textbooks include state curriculum guidelines, as well as the perspectives and preferences of the authors.



Author Information
Chiu-Yen Chen, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan
Cheng-Chih Wu, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

Paper Information
Conference: SEACE2020
Stream: Primary & Secondary Education

This paper is part of the SEACE2020 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Chen C., & Wu C. (2020) Who’s Who in High School Computer Science Textbooks in Taiwan ISSN: 2435-5240 The Southeast Asian Conference on Education 2020: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-5240.2020.34
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-5240.2020.34


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Posted by James Alexander Gordon