Understanding the relationship between socioeconomic status and mathematical literacy through computational thinking

Abstract In the 21st century, students have much easier access to information. Therefore, in this era, students are expected to do more than simply access information; they must also interpret and structure it and use it effectively to solve problems. The development of students’ ability to produce solutions to real-life problems is considered to depend not only on individual effort but also on interaction with socioeconomic conditions and cognitive structures. This study examines the statistical indirect association of self-reported computational thinking in the relationship between socioeconomic status and mathematical literacy. The sample of this study consisted of 520 eighth-grade students selected from eight public schools in five districts in Turkey. Analyses conducted using structural equation modelling indicated that socioeconomic status was positively associated with self-reported computational thinking and mathematical literacy. Additionally, self-reported computational thinking showed a significant indirect association between these two variables. These findings should be interpreted as evidence of statistical associations rather than causal mechanisms, given the cross-sectional design of the study and the self-reported nature of the computational thinking measure. The results suggest that students’ self-reported computational thinking tendencies may be associated with differences in mathematical literacy across socioeconomic backgrounds, while future longitudinal and performance-based studies could further clarify these relationships.