Katharine Childs
k.childs.1@research.gla.systa-s.com
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7185-6784
Research title: Promoting Interest and Broadening Participation in Computing among Middle School Pupils through Physical Computing Projects using Grounded Cognition Theory
Research summary
Katharine is an EPSRC-funded PhD student. Her research aims to promote interest and broaden participation in computing in middle school pupils through connecting the use of physical computing devices to grounded cognition theory. Despite a decade or more of formal and non-format activities to trigger pupils' interest in computing, data show an enduring lack of diversity amongst the pupils choosing Computing Science as a elective subject. It is hypothesised that activities to sustain pupils' interest in computing in the transition from primary to secondary education can help to make computing more inclusive for pupils from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Publications
2026
Childs, Katharine 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7185-6784 and Kallia, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8591-9651
(2026)
Exploring the Role of Grounded Cognition in Physical Computing: a Thematic Synthesis.
In: 20th WiPSCE Conference on Primary and Secondary Computing Education Research (WiPSCE 2026), Aachen, Germany, 11-13 March 2026,
(Accepted for Publication)
Conference Proceedings
Childs, Katharine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7185-6784 and Kallia, Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8591-9651
(2026)
Exploring the Role of Grounded Cognition in Physical Computing: a Thematic Synthesis.
In: 20th WiPSCE Conference on Primary and Secondary Computing Education Research (WiPSCE 2026), Aachen, Germany, 11-13 March 2026,
(Accepted for Publication)
Prior publications
Works published at other institutions
Conference Proceedings
Ethel Tshukudu, Katharine Childs, Gaokgakala Alogeng, Emma R. Dodoo, Douglas R. Case, Tebogo Videlmah Molebatsi (2026) Exploring K–12 Teacher Motivation to Engage with AI in Education Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3770762.3772632)
Emma R. Dodoo, Katharine Childs, Ethel Tshukudu (2025) Exploring the Role of Culture and Bilingualism in Programming Activities: Lessons from African Educators Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3736181.3747121)
Katharine Childs, Ethel Tshukudu, Gaokgakala Alogeng, Douglas Case, Tebogo Videlmah Molebatsi, Emma R. Dodoo (2025) Secondary Students' Conceptions of AI in an African Country Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3736251.3747301)
Katharine Childs, Jane Waite (2024) Funds of identity and culturally responsive computing: K-5 teachers' adaptations to computing resources Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3677619.3678106)
Katharine Childs, Alex Hadwen-Bennett, Jane Waite (2024) K-5 pupils' responses to culturally responsive computing lessons Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3677619.3678120)
Alexandra Price, Katharine Childs, Sue Sentance (2024) It's Useful But Not Interesting: Girls on Computing in School Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3689535.3689536)
Ethel Tshukudu, Maria Kallia, Katharine Childs, William Darragh (2023) Broadening Participation in Computing: Experiences of the Hour of Code in an African Country Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3605468.3605502)
Hayley C Leonard, Katharine Childs, Jane Waite, Robert Whyte, Sue Sentance (2023) Engaging primary (K-5) computing teachers in culturally relevant pedagogy through professional development Crossref. (doi: 10.1145/3610969.3611118)
Rizvi, S., Sentance, S., Childs, K., Leonard, H., Quinlan, O., Waite, J. (2022) Use of storytelling to increase engagement and motivation in computing in lower primary schools ACM International Conference Proceeding Series Scopus - Elsevier. ISBN 9781450398541 (doi: 10.1145/3556787.3556876)
Article
Katharine Childs, Sue Sentance (2024) Investigating the impact of introducing pair programming to primary computing education on female pupils’ attitudes towards computing International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools Crossref. (doi: 10.21585/ijcses.v7i1.218)
Supervisors
Additional information
Katharine holds a first-class BSc in IT & Computing from the Open University and an MSc (Distinction) in Computing Education from Nottingham Trent University.
