Past, Present and Future of Computing Education Research

This open-access volume offers a comprehensive, data-driven examination of computing education research (CER) as a scientific field. Through 21 chapters combining scientometric analyses, meta-studies, and in-depth case studies, the book maps the intellectual landscape of CER — its key authors and collaboration networks, the venues that have shaped its discourse, the topics that have risen and fallen over decades, and the regional initiatives that give the field its global character. The book opens by establishing the foundations: what defines computing education research as a discipline, what theories and methodologies have guided it, and how its identity has evolved from isolated programming instruction studies to a mature, interdisciplinary field. It then brings quantitative rigor to questions that have long been discussed anecdotally — using science mapping, topic modeling, and network analysis to trace how research communities form, how knowledge disseminates across venues and social media, and which themes are emerging at the frontier. A distinctive contribution of this volume is its global perspective. Dedicated chapters examine the evolution of CER in the Nordic countries, the Baltic region, the Global South, and beyond, revealing how local contexts shape research priorities and how international collaboration networks bridge geographical divides. Case studies of influential initiatives — from Sweden's Uppsala Computing Education Research Group to Namibia's Future Technology Lab — illustrate how institutional efforts catalyze change. The book also confronts forward-looking challenges, including computing education at the school level and the ethical dimensions of algorithmic bias in educational technologies. For researchers entering CER, the book provides a bird's-eye map of where the field has been and where it is headed. For established researchers, it offers fresh quantitative perspectives on familiar questions and identifies gaps where new contributions are most needed.

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