Inside the 2020 GitHub Education Classroom Report
GitHub Education has released its fourth annual Classroom Report, based on surveys of more than 7,000 students and over 100 educators. The report tracks how the student developer toolchain is evolving, how learners pick up real-world workflows, and what students expect from technical coursework. This year's edition also adds fresh data on how remote learning has reshaped classwork and how early-career developers are approaching the job market.
Who the next wave of developers is
The 2020 report profiles emerging developers across regions, languages, tools, and workplace expectations. Key takeaways include faster growth in developer populations across APAC and LATAM, and a continued shift toward Python as a first language for a growing number of students. Early-career developers typically work with 2-3 tools, and browser-based integrated development environments are gaining ground—nearly 40% of respondents said they have used tools like repl.it, CodePen, or Code Sandbox. Engagement with open source projects is also up.
What students want from work and school
Visual Studio Code remains the top IDE among early-career developers, but intern preferences are changing. Students now weigh pay heavily when choosing internships, along with opportunities for real-world experience and learning. Remote work has also become a default expectation, with emerging developers anticipating that it will remain standard even after the pandemic ends.
GitHub continues to hold strong appeal for this group. Among students who joined GitHub Education between 2014 and 2017, more than half describe themselves as very or extremely familiar with the platform, and over 95% say they plan to keep using it.
Faculty face a distinct set of pressures in the shift to virtual classrooms. The biggest reported hurdle is student engagement, followed closely by monitoring student progress and individualizing instruction. The report's faculty-focused sections offer data and resources aimed at addressing those challenges.
The full 2020 GitHub Education Classroom Report is available at education.github.com/classroom-report/2020.
