Computational Thinking in Basic Education: Reflections from the Historical of the Technologies in Brazilian Education

Abstract

Activities that propose the development of Computational Thinking (CT) have been increasingly employed in school environments, and some contributions to the development of cognitive aspects have been reported in literature. Whereas, however, the effort to integrate the CT into Education is not so recent, but has its roots in the early history of Informatics in Education, and whereas pedagogical practices must be thought out and conducted with clear intent, in accordance with and the world view that one has and is aiming for, it is pertinent to reflect on the reasons that justify activities with CT in the school, and what history teaches us about its integration into teaching and learning processes. In this sense, this article aims to promote this reflection from a historical perspective on the trajectory of Informatics in Brazilian Education, seeking to understand the implications of the sociocultural context in each moment, the conceptions of man’s relationship with technologies, and the impacts on the way technologies were used in Education, relating to implicit pedagogical trends. For this, a bibliographic and documentary research was carried out. The results indicate that contemporary cybercultural reality encourages and justifies interest in the inclusion of the CT in schools but requires that aspects such as pedagogical conceptions and a balanced view on the role of technologies in Education be considered, teacher training and alignment of CT development activities with curriculum contents.