PREKINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ IMPLEMENTATION OF A CULTURALLY RELEVANT COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM: A CASE STUDY OF DOROTHY VAUGHAN EARLY LEARNING CENTER

This qualitative case study investigates how culturally relevant interactions support the development of norms and contribute to computational thinking practices in early computer science education. Drawing on microgenetic methods, this study analyzes video data from two prekindergarten classrooms in a public school engaged in a yearlong research-practice partnership. Through microanalysis, this study examines how Black children and their teachers co-construct sociocomputational norms, defined as shared ways of reasoning and participating in computational learning. Findings show that culturally relevant interactions foster these norms by affirming children’s cultural knowledge, supporting collaborative meaning-making, and positioning children as competent contributors in a computational learning community. This study contributes to research and practice in early childhood computer science education by introducing the construct of sociocomputational norms and demonstrating how culturally relevant interactions can function as an equity-oriented pedagogical approach for designing equitable learning environments that support Black children’s computational thinking and participation.