The problems encountered by students in first year computer programming units are a common
concern in many universities including Victoria University. A fundamental component of a com-
puter science curriculum, computer programming is a mandatory unit in a computing course. It is
also one of the most feared and hated units
by many novice computing students who, having
failed or performed poorly in a programming unit,
often drop out from a course. This article dis-
cusses some of the difficulties experienced by first year programming students, and reviews some
of the initiatives undertaken to counter the problems.
The article also reports on the first stage of a
current research project at Victoria University that
aims to develop a bala
nced approach to teach-
ing first year programming units; its goal is to ‘b
efriend’ computer programming to help promote
success among new programming students.