Empowering education: Student perceptions and attitudes to the role of social robots in learning contexts

Abstract

Successful integration of social robots in education relies on the acceptance of robots in learning contexts by students. Using a participatory design workshop, students interacted with a KettyBot and ideated potential roles for robots in the classroom. This was followed by a questionnaire and the Godspeed Questionnaire Series (GQS) to understand student perceptions and attitudes towards social robots in education environments. Learners described potential use cases and our results demonstrate students envision robots as assistants rather than teachers, emphasising the importance of human connection in learning.