Katharine Childs
k.childs.1@research.gla.ac.uk
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)
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.
