The influence of (research-based) teacher training programs on evaluations of central computer science concepts

•We empirically evaluate central concepts of computer science.•We find significant differences between computer science professors and teachers.•We show the influence of teacher training programs.•Our findings are relevant to training programs for computer science teachers.

Computer science education is acknowledged to play an important role in schools. The development of a curriculum needs to be informed by knowledge of concepts that are central to the discipline of computer science. Taking a cross-contextual approach, this study compares the combinations of content and process concepts identified as important in the context of professors (university educators) with those considered relevant in the context of teachers (high schools educators). The results can inform the evaluation of pre- and in-service training programs for computer science teachers and the evolution of computer science curricula for computer science teacher educators.