




































BECE. Newsletter 

BECE, Vol.9, No.2, 2021 1273 

 

 

 

 

Can Programming Really Promote Individual Devel-

opment of Children? A Meta-analysis on 28 Experi-

mental and Quasi-experimental Studies 

By Sun, L.H. & Hu, L.L. 
Correspondence to: Sun, L.H., Tianjin University. E-mail: sunlh777@163.com  

S a basic skill of children facing the future, adapting to the future, and 

transforming the future, programming has continuously received atten-

tion from all walks of life. Scholars have carried out a great deal of experi-

mental and quasi-experimental research, but the results of the research differ. 

To respond to the topic “whether children’s programming promotes chil-

dren’s individual development”, a study from Journal of East China Normal 

University (Education Science Edition) adopted a meta-analysis method to 

conduct empirical research on the influence of programming on individual 

development by reviewing 28 independent studies and 74 effect sizes that 

can be used for analysis. The research results were evaluated to summarize 

the degree of influence of programming on the individual development of 

children. In addition, the study further analyzed the differences in the influ-

ence of programming on the individual development of children by different 

stages, programming styles, sample sizes, and experimental cycles, to obtain 

scientific and reasonable conclusions and provide a feasible reference for the 

subsequent progress in children’s programming education research and prac-

tice. 

The important findings of the study are as follows: 

 In this study, the combined effect size of the overall impact of pro-

gramming on children’s individual development is SMD = 0.61 > 

0.5, which shows that programming has a positive effect on chil-

dren’s individual development. 

 This study further measured the specific effects of programming on 

children’s individual development from three dimensions: cognition, 

behavior and emotion.  

 
 

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A 

mailto:sunlh777@163.com


 

BECE, Vol.9, No.2, 2021 1274 

First, at the cognitive level, the combined effect size of programming 

on individual children is (SMD = 0.86, p < 0.001), reaching a statistically 

significant level, indicating that programming can significantly and actively 

promote the cognitive development of students. Specifically, programming 

influences mathematical thinking (SMD = 2.68, p < 0.001), academic 

achievement (SMD = 0.61, p < 0.001), knowledge transfer (SMD = 0.82, p < 

0.001) and computational thinking (SMD = 0.50, p < 0.001). The impacts 

reach a significant level. 

Second, at the behavioral level, the combined effect size of program-

ming on children’s individual development is (SMD = 0.34, p < 0.001), indi-

cating that programming has a significant intermediate effect on children’s 

behavior development, specifically, in pair ranking ability (SMD = 0.65, p < 

0.001), classification planning (SMD = 0.31, p < 0.05), problem solving 

(SMD = 0.25, p < 0.05) and collaborative innovation (SMD = 0.40, p  < 0.01) 

The impacts are of  significant levels. 

Finally, at the emotional level, the combined effect size of program-

ming on children’s individual development is (SMD = 0.31, p < 0.001), indi-

cating that programming has a significant intermediate effect on children’s 

emotional development. Specifically, programming has significant impacts 

on learning interest (SMD = 0.51, p < 0.01) and children’s self-efficacy 

(SMD = 0.22, p < 0.05), and the impacts on children’s learning motivation 

(SMD = 0.19, p > 0.05) and learning participation (SMD = 0.20, p > 0.05) 

are not significant. 

Overall, programming has significant positive effects on children’s 

cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development, and it has the most prom-

inent effect on cognitive development. 

 From the perspective of different learning stages, there is no signifi-

cant difference between the group effects (Chi
2
 = 2.67, p > 0.05) of 

children’s programming in preschools, elementary schools and mid-

dle schools. The effects of programming on the individual develop-

ment of students at different school stages are ranked in order of the 

combined effect size: middle school (SMD = 0.77, p < 0.001), pre-

school (SMD = 0.56, p < 0.001) and elementary school (SMD = 0.52, 

p < 0.001) ). 

 From the perspective of different experimental cycles, there are sig-

nificant differences in the impact of programming experiment cycles 

of different lengths (Chi
2
 = 24.68, p < 0.001) on the individual de-

velopment of children. Specifically, the short-term experiment had 

the highest combined effect size (SMD = 0.43, p < 0.001), followed 

by the long-term experiment (SMD = 0.26, p < 0.001), and the mid-

term experiment had the lowest combined effect size (SMD = 0.24, 

p < 0.001). 

 From the perspective of different sample sizes, the intergroup effect 

size shows Chi
2
 = 23.53, p < 0.001, reaching a significant level, in-

dicating that there are significant differences in the influence of pro-

gramming on the individual development of large, medium, and 



 

BECE, Vol.9, No.2, 2021 1275 

small-scale of student sample. Specifically, the small-scale com-

bined effect size (SMD = 0.41, p < 0.001) is higher than that of the 

medium-scale (SMD = 0.37, p < 0.001) and higher than the large-

scale combined effect size (SMD = 0.17, p < 0.001). This shows that 

small-scale programming activities have a more significant impact 

on children’s individual development than medium-scale and large-

scale programming activities. Moreover, there is a negative correla-

tion between the sample size and the effect. As the sample size in-

creases, the effect gradually decreases. This finding can provide a 

reference for the design and development of subsequent program-

ming activities. 

 From the perspective of different programming forms, the intergroup 

effect size shows Chi
2
 = 32.72, p < 0.001, reaching a significant lev-

el, indicating that there are significant differences in the role of dif-

ferent programming forms in promoting the individual development 

of children. Specifically, unplugged programming has the highest 

combined effect size (SMD = 1.47, p < 0.001), followed by LOGO 

programming (SMD = 0.78, p < 0.05), other programming forms 

(SMD = 0.41, p < 0.001), and Scratch (SMD = 0.23, p < 0.001) with 

the lowest combined effect size, which indicates that unplugged 

programming is significantly better than other programming forms 

in promoting the individual development of children. However, 

there is a possibility that this is caused by the differences among us-

ers in different groups. 

In summary, the analysis results affirm the importance of program-

ming to children’s growth and its positive role in promoting individual de-

velopment. However, research results also shows that programming educa-

tion will present different effects when facing different learners and learning 

situations. Therefore, programming teaching practice should not be carried 

out blindly. Instead, it should be designed and planned scientifically and rea-

sonably according to the different elements of the teaching system. 

 

Source: Journal of East China Normal University, Educational Sciences, 2021; 

39(11):45-58.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 


