A Framework for Educational Robotics in Kindergarten: A Systematic Literature Review and Analysis

This paper reports on a systematic review aiming to define the dimensions of a framework for educational robotics in kindergarten. We performed our search in online databases via keyword search and snowball sampling. At the end of the process, we kept 46 papers. The results of an in- depth analysis of them indicate four dimensions for the proposed framework: (1) design and implementation of educational robotics curriculum: most interventions used programmable floor robots, like Bee-Bot, but also more sophisticated tools, like KIBO; in most of the interventions, children are invited to work in small groups; the interventions are often designed and carried out by researchers directly and not by teachers themselves; curricula tend to be created from scratch instead of adopting existing curricula; (2) design and implementation of the research studies: there is a balance among adopted research methodologies (qualitative, quantitative and mixed); most studies are non-experimental and the most used ways of collecting data are observations, tests and interviews; (3) investigated outcomes on participants skills: a large share of papers reports outcomes other than technical skills, having also investigated the impact on soft skills, cognitive skills, learning engagement and emotions; (4) the gender dimension: around one in five papers investigated the relationship between educational and the gender dimension.