We propose computational empowerment as an approach and a
Participatory Design (PD) response to challenges related to the emerging
need for digital literacy in lower secondary education. Our approach
extends the current focus on computational thinking to include a concern
for how children and youth are empowered through constructive,
analytical and critical engagement with technology. We argue that PD
has the potential to drive a computational empowerment agenda in
education by connecting political PD with contemporary visions for
addressing a future digitised labour market and society. We provide a
model for understanding and engaging with computational
empowerment and report on the emergence of the computational
empowerment agenda in a Danish context and how this agenda is
reflected in the newly developed curriculum for a course on technology
comprehension running on trial basis in 46 schools across Denmark.