Prior computing knowledge is not a pre-requisite for enrolling in many computing undergraduate courses at many universities. It is said that the difficulty of learning computer programming lies only with the logical thinking of the student, not because they did not have prior computing knowledge.
Universities all around the world are putting tremendous effort to encourage and support students to acquire basic computing skills and computer programming skills. Therefore in this paper, an analysis of all undergraduate computing courses offered in 2015 by two main Mauritian universities, the University of Technology (UTM) and University of Mauritius (UOM) is carried out.
This analysis includes two phases: the first one allows us to identify all computing courses which do not require prior computing knowledge at A-Level to enroll in these courses. The second phase will help us to identify the computing courses which are teaching computer programming. From the two analysis we will be able to understand the number of computing courses not requiring computing at A level but will give non -computing A-level students the chance to learn computer programming at tertiary level.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Background study
3. Methodology
4. Results
4.1. Pre-requisite A-Level subject:
4.2. Computing courses consisting of at least one computing programming module:
4.2. Overall conclusion of the two analyses:
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this research is to analyze undergraduate computing courses offered at the University of Technology, Mauritius (UTM) and the University of Mauritius (UOM) to determine if prior computing knowledge at the A-level is a prerequisite for enrollment and to identify the extent to which these programs incorporate computer programming modules.
- Analysis of A-level subject entry requirements for computing degrees.
- Evaluation of computer programming content in undergraduate curricula.
- Assessment of institutional efforts to promote ICT and programming skills.
- Exploration of strategies for enhancing digital literacy in developing nations.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Methodology
The methodology of this research is a quantitative analysis of all the undergraduate computing courses offered at both UOM and UTM in January 2015. The methodology consists of two parts. The first part is to identify the pre-requisite A-level subjects for undergraduate computing courses at these two tertiary institution and second part is to identify the undergraduate courses which are teaching computer programming to students. This analysis is being conducted by collecting the different undergraduate course structure documents which are available on each of these universities’ website. Based on these documents, the pre-requisite A-level subjects and the course consisting of at least a computer programming module are identified. The data collected are tabulated in tables. In this paper, you will find all these tables in the section results. Pie charts and mathematical subsets are used to represent these data quantitatively.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter highlights the growing global importance of digital literacy and the specific efforts in Mauritius to transform the country into a cyber island.
2. Background study: This section reviews global trends in computer science education, emphasizing the benefits of ICT skills and the various institutional strategies to support students in acquiring programming knowledge.
3. Methodology: The author outlines a quantitative approach to analyze course structures at UTM and UOM, focusing on entry requirements and programming curriculum content.
4. Results: This chapter presents the data regarding A-level prerequisites and the presence of programming modules in various undergraduate degrees through tables, pie charts, and set notation.
5. Conclusion: The paper concludes that prior computing knowledge is largely unnecessary for undergraduate enrollment in Mauritius, supporting the goal of widespread digital empowerment.
Keywords
Computing, Information and communication technologies, ICT, Information Technology, IT, computer programming, A-level, undergraduate courses, Mauritius, University of Technology, University of Mauritius, digital literacy, cyber island, curriculum analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The research investigates whether students require prior computer science knowledge at the A-level to pursue undergraduate computing degrees at two major Mauritian universities.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study spans digital literacy, educational policy in ICT, undergraduate curriculum structure, and the integration of computer programming into higher education.
What is the primary research goal?
The primary goal is to determine if current admission requirements act as barriers and to what extent universities facilitate the learning of programming skills for non-computing A-level holders.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses a quantitative analysis, collecting and tabulating course structure data from university websites, supplemented by pie charts and mathematical subset representations.
What does the main body of the work address?
It provides a systematic breakdown of 15 undergraduate courses, detailing specific A-level subject prerequisites and the inclusion of programming versus non-programming IT modules.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Computing, ICT, Information Technology, A-level, Mauritius, curriculum analysis, and digital literacy.
How many universities were analyzed in this study?
The study exclusively examines two institutions: the University of Technology, Mauritius (UTM) and the University of Mauritius (UOM).
What was the key finding regarding A-level prerequisites?
The analysis revealed that 92% of the computer programming degree courses studied do not require computing as a prerequisite at the A-level.
Does every analyzed course include a programming module?
No, out of the 15 courses analyzed, 14 included at least one module teaching computer programming, while one did not.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Yeeshtdevisingh Hosanee (Autor:in), 2016, Is prior knowledge necessary for undergraduate computing courses? A study of courses offered by Mauritian universities, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/322550
