ABSTRACT

Social robots are designed to interact with humans and this technology is entering early childhood classrooms across the world. Research is needed to understand teachers' perspectives on the benefits and barriers of using social robots with children. In this study, 94 teachers working in preschool or the early years of primary school, in Australia, completed a survey that asked teachers about their perspectives on using social robots in the classroom. Teachers reported that the main benefits of social robots would be to improve young children's learning and engagement and barriers included financial cost, limited teacher training, and technical support for using social robots in the classroom. Overall, teachers were generally neutral in their views about social robots, neither dismissing nor embracing them. It is recommended that early childhood teachers be provided with greater opportunities and training to experience these new digital technologies for supporting children's learning in the classroom.

摘要

社交机器人旨在与人类互动，这项技术正在进入世界各地的幼儿教室。需要进行研究来了解教师对与儿童一起使用社交机器人的好处和障碍的看法。在这项研究中，澳大利亚 94 名学前班或小学早期的教师完成了一项调查，询问教师对在课堂上使用社交机器人的看法。教师们报告说，社交机器人的主要好处是提高幼儿的学习和参与度，但障碍包括财务成本、有限的教师培训以及在课堂上使用社交机器人的技术支持。总体而言，教师对社交机器人的看法总体上是中立的，既不排斥也不欢迎它们。