{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T18:56:25Z","timestamp":1776711385492,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748908800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Data"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The ability to program has become an essential competence for individuals in an increasingly digital world. However, access to programming education remains unequal, particularly in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) contexts. This study presents a dataset resulting from an educational intervention designed to foster programming competencies and computational thinking skills among primary school students aged 8 to 12 years in Milagro, Ecuador. The intervention integrated Scratch, a block-based programming environment that simplifies coding by eliminating syntactic barriers, and the CARAMBA recommendation system, which provided personalized learning paths based on students\u2019 progression and preferences. A structured educational process was implemented, including an initial diagnostic test to assess logical reasoning, guided activities in Scratch to build foundational skills, a phase of personalized practice with CARAMBA, and a final computational thinking evaluation using a validated assessment instrument. The resulting dataset encompasses diverse information: demographic data, logical reasoning test scores, computational thinking test results pre- and post-intervention, activity logs from Scratch, recommendation histories from CARAMBA, and qualitative feedback from university student tutors who supported the intervention. The dataset is anonymized, ethically collected, and made available under a CC-BY 4.0 license to encourage reuse. This resource is particularly valuable for researchers and practitioners interested in computational thinking development, educational data mining, personalized learning systems, and digital equity initiatives. It supports comparative studies between WEIRD and non-WEIRD populations, validation of adaptive learning models, and the design of inclusive programming curricula. Furthermore, the dataset enables the application of machine learning techniques to predict educational outcomes and optimize personalized educational strategies. By offering this dataset openly, the study contributes to filling critical gaps in educational research, promoting inclusive access to programming education, and fostering a more comprehensive understanding of how computational competencies can be developed across diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/data10060086","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,4]],"date-time":"2025-06-04T08:51:04Z","timestamp":1749027064000},"page":"86","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Dataset on Programming Competencies Development Using Scratch and a Recommender System in a Non-WEIRD Primary School Context"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Jesennia","family":"C\u00e1rdenas-Cobo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Vicerrectora Acad\u00e9mica de Formaci\u00f3n de Grado, Universidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro 091050, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cristian","family":"Vidal-Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda y Negocios, Universidad de Las Am\u00e9ricas, Manuel Montt 948, Providencia, Santiago 7500975, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2371-8253","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicol\u00e1s","family":"M\u00e1quez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escuela de Ingenier\u00eda Comercial, Facultad de Econom\u00eda y Negocios, Universidad Santo Tom\u00e1s, Talca 3460000, Chile"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"33","article-title":"Computational thinking: What and why","volume":"6","author":"Wing","year":"2010","journal-title":"Link"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Computational thinking: The developing definition","volume":"2013","author":"Selby","year":"2013","journal-title":"ITiCSE Work. Group Rep."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Bocconi, S., Chioccariello, A., and Earp, J. (2016). Developing computational thinking in compulsory education\u2014Implications for policy and practice. JRC Sci. Policy Rep."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.3102\/0013189X12463051","article-title":"Computational thinking in K\u201312: A review of the state of the field","volume":"42","author":"Grover","year":"2013","journal-title":"Educ. Res."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1949","DOI":"10.1007\/s10763-021-10227-5","article-title":"Integrating Computational Thinking in STEM Education: A Literature Review","volume":"20","author":"Wang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int. J. Sci. Math. Educ."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1038\/466029a","article-title":"Most people are not WEIRD","volume":"466","author":"Henrich","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Tucker, B. (2014, January 3\u20137). Computational thinking: Teacher enactment and student learning. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Philadelphia, PA, USA."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1007\/s40692-021-00190-z","article-title":"Effect of Scratch on Computational Thinking Skills of Chinese Primary School Students","volume":"8","author":"Jiang","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Comput. Educ."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belmar, H. (2022). Review on the Teaching of Programming and Computational Thinking in the World. Front. Comput. Sci., 4.","DOI":"10.3389\/fcomp.2022.997222"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1109\/TE.2021.3115460","article-title":"Latin American Women and Computer Science: A Systematic Literature Mapping","volume":"65","author":"Holanda","year":"2022","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Educ."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Yadav, A., Hong, H.Y., and Stephenson, C. (May, January 27). The role of computational thinking in STEM learning: A review. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Antonio, TX, USA."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1595","DOI":"10.1007\/s11423-023-10231-2","article-title":"Development and Validation of a Computational Thinking Test for Lower Primary School Students","volume":"71","author":"Zhang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Educ. Technol. Res. Dev."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1295","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691620927709","article-title":"Racial inequality in psychological research: Trends of the past and recommendations for the future","volume":"15","author":"Roberts","year":"2020","journal-title":"Perspect. Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1145\/1592761.1592779","article-title":"Scratch: Programming for all","volume":"52","author":"Resnick","year":"2009","journal-title":"Commun. ACM"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Montiel, H., and Gomez-Zerme\u00f1o, M.G. (2021). Educational Challenges for Computational Thinking in K\u201312 Education: A Systematic Literature Review of \u201cScratch\u201d as an Innovative Programming Tool. Computers, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/computers10060069"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7059","DOI":"10.1007\/s10639-022-10891-2","article-title":"Developing K\u201312 Students\u2019 Programming Ability: A Systematic Literature Review","volume":"27","author":"Sun","year":"2022","journal-title":"Educ. Inf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"243","article-title":"Recommender systems and Scratch: An integrated approach for enhancing computer programming learning","volume":"14","author":"Puris","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Learn. Technol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ricci, F., Rokach, L., Shapira, B., and Kantor, P.B. (2011). Introduction to Recommender Systems Handbook, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-85820-3"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pe\u00f1a-Ayala, A. (2017). Learning Analytics in Higher Education\u2014A Literature Review. Learning Analytics: Fundaments, Applications, and Trends: A View of the Current State of the Art to Enhance e-Learning, Springer International Publishing.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-52977-6"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"9355","article-title":"Applying recommendation system for developing programming competencies in children from a non-WEIRD context","volume":"29","author":"Torres","year":"2023","journal-title":"Educ. Inf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Rom\u00e1n-Gonz\u00e1lez, M. (2016). Codigoalfabetizaci\u00f3n y Pensamiento Computacional en Educaci\u00f3n Primaria y Secundaria: Validaci\u00f3n de un Instrumento y Evaluaci\u00f3n de Programas. [Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad Nacional de Educaci\u00f3n a Distancia]."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Cardenas-Cobo, J. (2020). Enhancing the Learning of Programming Using Scratch: A Recommender-Systems-Based Approach in Non WEIRD Communities. [Ph.D. Thesis, University of Seville]."}],"container-title":["Data"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-5729\/10\/6\/86\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T17:46:52Z","timestamp":1760032012000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-5729\/10\/6\/86"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]},"references-count":22,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]}},"alternative-id":["data10060086"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/data10060086","relation":{},"ISSN":["2306-5729"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2306-5729","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]}}}