The task of detecting the attributes of computational thinking skills in students remains a major challenge for educational researchers. What are the most reliable global predictors of the computational thinking abilities among primary, high school, and even university students? Durak and Saritepeci performed an experiment to investigate this baffling question. The authors extensively review and cite literature to support the use of gender; educational level; IT experience; daily use of the Internet; successful use of math, science, and information technologies; attitude toward math, sciences, and information technologies; and thinking styles as predictors of computational thinking skills.

They performed an experiment with predominantly secondary school students in Turkey to identify the predictors of computational thinking skills. They use well-known standardized questionnaires and instruments to collect data about the students’ personal information, attitudes, and the applications of the varieties of technologies used by participants. The familiar structural equation model (SEM) was used to identify the significant predictors of computational thinking skills. Not surprisingly, achievements and attitudes toward mathematics and thinking tactics were significant predictors of computational thinking skills.

Should controversial variables such as gender and stereotypes of students continue to be investigated as likely indicators of success in computational areas? Scientific educators should read this paper, comment on the relevance of the research results, and recommend the future research areas for worldwide computational thinking and requirements.