V Value of Teaching Computer Science Mary E. Webb King’ s College London, London, UK Introduction Computer Science is the academic discipline that underlies all developments in Information Technology. A succinct but fairly comprehensive definition of Computer Science that reflects current understanding is “The scientific and prac- tical approach to computation and its applications and the systematic study of the feasibility, struc- ture, expression, and mechanization of the methodical procedures (or algorithms) that under- lie the acquisition, representation, processing, storage, communication of, and access to information” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Com puter_science). In recent years, reports from var- ious countries have revisited the importance of all students learning Computer Science throughout compulsory education, following concerns about Computer Science being neglected in school curricula (Joint Informatics Europe and ACM Europe Working Group on Informatics Education 2013; The Royal Society 2012; Wilson et al. 2010). These reports emphasized the serious implications for economic prosperity of the decline in Computer Science learning but also mentioned the benefits to individuals and society of people being well educated in Computer Science. The decline in teaching Computer Science in schools has happened in many, but not all, Western countries and has generally been associated with a focus on basic digital literacy at the expense of the study of the academic discipline (Webb et al. 2017). All of these reports into the demise of Computer Science (Joint Informatics Europe and ACM Europe Working Group on Informatics Education 2013; The Royal Society 2012; Wilson et al. 2010) recommended the learning and teaching of both Computer Science and digital literacy throughout compulsory schooling. Digital literacy enables people to use business applications such as spreadsheets and databases as well as to make safe and effective use of Internet-based technologies and thus enables people to be users and consumers of new technologies but not crea- tors. Developing understanding and skills in Computer Science opens up a broad range of opportunities for creativity and innovation both for personal development and for employment prospects. Since these reports were written, many countries have reviewed and redeveloped their curricula, and there is generally a renewed focus on Computer Science (Webb et al. 2017). However, in the UK, for example, where a signif- icant effort has been made to implement the rec- ommendations of the Royal Society’ s original report (The Royal Society 2012), a recent report also by the Royal Society (2017) has found that the teaching of Computer Science in schools © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 A. Tatnall (ed.), Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10576-1