“The spark fizzles out: barriers and strategies in computer science teacher preparation program design”

Background and Context The United States is seeing an increasing demand for computer science education. However, many schools don’t have and can’t find CS teachers. One reason for this is the sputtering state of the computer science teacher preparation pipeline. Quite a few CS teacher preparation programs have been initiated over the last 15 years, however the vast majority have consistently struggled to certify more than a handful of teachers per year.Objective This study aimed to closely investigate how CS Education teacher preparation programs are initiated, designed, and launched to uncover insights re garding program sustainability. Method: We used Kotter’s framework of organizational change to structure semi-structured interviews with 23 program leaders, identify the barriers faced and the strategies used.Findings We found a number of substantial barriers, including ill-fitting state policies, institutional hurdles, and a lack of computer science teacher preparation resources. These barriers often compound each other and ultimately, programs that had trouble establishing the first four steps of Kotter’s framework during the program development stage are highly likely to have trouble accomplishing the last four during the sustainment phase.Implications We recommended that program leaders solidify these four steps during the development phase to ensure success during the sustainment phase. We also encourage policy makers to take into consideration the barriers faced by these programs to ensure that the teacher pipeline remains robust.