Programming and 21st century skill development in K‐12 schools: A multidimensional meta‐analysis.

Background Study: As interest in programming education continues to grow, more educators are incorporating programming into K‐12 classrooms. There is evidence that programming can help develop essential skills for future societal advancement, known as 21st century skills. However, there has been limited research into which sub‐skills of 21st century skills are fostered through programming and the effect sizes thereof. Objective: This study presented a meta‐analysis to comprehensively understand the influence of programming instruction in K‐12 classrooms on the development of students' 21st century skills in different dimensions of sub‐skills. And further analysed the impact of key elements of programming instruction design on its effectiveness. Methods: A comprehensive meta‐analysis was conducted, covering 74 empirical studies published between 2000 and 2023, involving 136 effect sizes, and moderation analyzes on variables of instructional design. Results: This study indicated that implementing programming instruction in K‐12 schools can help develop students' multiple dimensions of 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, problem‐solving and decision, learning to learn, ICT literacy, and personal and social responsibility. Overall, programming demonstrates a moderate but significant effect on improving 21st century skills (Hedges's g = 0.621, p = 0.000 < 0.01). Furthermore, several best practices were identified to enhance students' 21st century skills, including initiating programming education from kindergarten, limiting the duration of programming interventions to 6 months, adopting interdisciplinary approaches to programming education, utilizing visual programming tools, and selecting appropriate assessment methods. Conclusion: Based on these findings, this study recommended the thoughtful design of programming education to maximize its advantages in various dimensions of 21st century skills. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Currently, 21st century skills have become critical skills that students should have.A popular practice in K‐12 schools is to use programming to develop students' 21st century skills, but results are inconsistent and quantitative synthesis of empirical research is lacking.Some factors of programming instruction may influence the effectiveness of programming on students' 21st century competencies. What this paper adds: A meta‐analysis of 74 studies was conducted to provide systematic evidence that programming has a moderate effect on improving K‐12 students' 21st century skills.Programming significantly improves students' eight sub‐skills in the 21st century.Educational level moderated the impact of programming on students' 21st century skills.Instructional duration moderated the impact of programming on students' 21st century skills. The implications of study findings for practitioners: Programming instruction is designed to be well‐planned and to take full advantage of technology to develop students' 21st century skills.Starting programming instruction at a younger age is more beneficial for students' 21st century skill development.Regarding intervention duration, it is noteworthy that interventions lasting within six months are more effective.Integrate programming across disciplines to promote students' multi‐dimensional 21st century skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]