More than 60% of Ukrainian schoolchildren would strongly like to study programming, while another 18.5% of young respondents indicated that they already study it independently.
According to the survey of the association “IT Ukraine” among students, only 5% responded that they have no interest in programming. The survey also revealed that an astounding 55.6% of respondents have a personal computer, while 41.6% have a home computer that they may use.
Ukrainian publication IT Expert notes that the structure for the study of “computer science” in Ukrainian schools is currently far from meeting the needs of students with regards to knowledge about programming, as a vast number of school hours are dedicated to skills that students at that age tend to learn on their own.
For example, 78 hours are set aside for work with text documents, numeric data, multimedia presentations, and graphics, a figure that amounts to one-third of the entire programme of study in computer sciences at levels 5-9, while 33 hours are set aside for programming.
State policy in Ukraine has only made its first steps towards changing the curriculum with regards to increasing the teaching of programming. A “plan of action to support the software industry for 2015”, which was approved recently by the Cabinet of Ministers, envisages an increase in programming instruction in schools. An analogous proposal has been submitted the Ministry of Science and the Committee for Science and Education in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament).
The survey was conducted through social network Vkontakte. It included participation from more than 1,000 students, aged 12-14, throughout Ukraine.
