We live in a society where data and technology are everywhere and are becoming an essential part of our lives. Companies are using big data in order to acquire competitive advantage and improve their process and products. Some observed benefit that data driven companies are enjoying compared to those who are not are:
- A likelihood 23 times higher to acquire new customers thanks data driven marketing campaign
- a profit increase of 8%
- reduction of cost of 10% (keboola, 2019)
The demands from employer of coding and data analytics skills is skyrocketing. Glassdoor reported that eight of the top 25 jobs in the US are tech-based and require some level of coding proficiency. Similarly, a 2016 Burning Glass report found that the demand for roles such as data analyst is rising 12% than the market average (Nord Anglia 2020).
Reading this data one question came immediately to my mind. Since schools have a responsibility to provide students with all the tools and skills they need in order to succeed in their future should the educational system be more prone to the digital revolution and start teaching codes and data analytics since the first years of instruction? I personally believe that our educational system should empathize more the importance of those skills since the earlier age of our education.
When I started my master in Lisbon I had one mandatory course that was about econometrics and data analytics. So, the first time I started learning coding was at 22 years old and I wish I could have started way before. During my bachelor in management in Padova I did not have the possibility to choose any elective course regarding those topics. Many italian business university still do not have a dedicated bachelor or master to business and data analyst. I believe every students in management , finance or economics nowadays should have at least a basic knowledge in coding and data analytics in order to be competitive in the job market in the future. Like with every other subject if we start to approach it since we are young it would be easier to learn it and master it.
Let me know what you think and how is the situation in your countries.
Keboola 2019 available at https://www.keboola.com/blog/5-stats-that-show-how-data-driven-organizations-outperform-their-competition
Nord Anglia 2020 avaiable at https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/news/2020/08/18/the-benefits-of-coding-in-school-and-how-to-teach-it
I think this certainly is an interesting question you posted about, Guiseppe! I personally learned to code a bit younger than you (at 18 years old) in my last year at high school (in the Netherlands). However, this was due to my own personal choices (it was an optional course), and not because it is a common subject for every career direction.
I think you make a valid point, since data is one of the most important aspects of running a business nowadays. I agree with you that this should be included more in the education programs! In my personal experience, the fact that i followed that optional course in high school, has probably influenced my choice of college program a lot (Business Information Management).
Therefore, I completely agree with you that a course about data (maybe included with some programming/overall IT knowlegde) should be available for all high school students. There are so many people who don’t even realise the potential of data. Or the potential career paths linked to this subject. A subject like this could show teenagers and young adults the impact data can have and it could help them decide wether or not a ‘job in data’ (or even in IT in general) would suit them.
However I don’t think this is something that should already be taught in primairy school (assuming that’s what you meant with education). I think it is important to have certain skillsets before following a course about IT/data. For example, I think your english proficiency and your ability to reason causality are essential to start off well in coding.
Thank you for your interesting blog and I hope to read more about other peoples experiences
hi Desiree thanks for you comment, I agree with you ,I also think that everyone in high school should have the possibility to choose some course about data and coding. I believe the main problem we are facing is that the education system is not emphasizing enough the importance of this subject. Even if we live in the technology century many people are still not aware of the importance of those topics, create this awareness should be the role of the educational system. I believe that’s teaching coding in the elementary schools would be as useful as teaching English, since it’s a complicated subject the sooner you start the better it is. Of course the level of knowledge you can acquire at the elementary school is low but still the basic and the logic of how to code can learned. There are already many online courses and research on which is the best way to start teaching coding to kids.
Hi Giuseppe, I think you ask a relevant question. I also believe that the education system should encourage coding to students as early as possible. Maybe we can see coding as a new type of language that should be learned in school. Besides your mother language and English, maybe coding should be another language students should learn. In some ways it works similair to a regular language, it is almost impossible to grasp and seems very complex in the beginning, but as you spent more time doing it, it starts to make sense.
I remember when i first started to learning how to code in R, it was hard and time consuming. However, over some school years and courses it got significantly easier. Last year i started to self-study Python. I noticed that much of the concepts in R, apply in the same way in the python language. Therefore it became easier to pick up python. It`s a bit similair how it is easier for Dutch people to learn German as both of our languages have many similarities and Dutch can be used as reference point to learn German.
I totally agree with you. Starting teaching coding since the first year of school would be very useful because as you said it’s like learning a new language. In order to learn coding you need to understand its rules and its logic and I believe that once you do that it really helps to expand your mind, it can boost your problem solving, creativity and critical thinking skills which are fundamental nowadays. I had the same experience of yours, the first time I faced R it was pretty challenging even to do the more basic task, then after I spent several hours on it I learned the basic code and everything become easier.