Using robotic toys in early childhood education to support children’s social and emotional competencies

Sarika Kewalramani; Ioanna Palaiologou; Maria Dardanou; Kelly-Ann Allen; Sivanes Phillipson

doi:10.1177/18369391211056668

Using robotic toys in early childhood education to support children’s social and emotional competencies

Sarika Kewalramani, Ioanna Palaiologou, Maria Dardanou, Kelly-Ann Allen, Sivanes Phillipson

School of Educational Psychology & Counselling

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This Australian study examines whether and how technologies such as Artificially Intelligent (AI) toys in a home-based setting might socially and emotionally support children with diverse needs through play. Building on the concept of ‘emotional capital', and employing a design-based research approach, parents during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in 2020 intentionally used robotic toys to engage their children with additional diverse needs in home-based play experiences. The data from both parents’ and children’s (n = 5) Zoom interviews, digital observations and children’s drawings demonstrated how children creatively conversed with their AI robots in innovative and empathy-based dialogues that generated happy feelings and a sense of ‘imaginary’ togetherness with their robot during the coding experiences. This study contributes to research by exploring the use of AI robotic toys together with physical and artificial environments and offers a case to build children’s emotional capital in enabling children’s social-emotional literacies.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	355-369
Number of pages	15
Journal	Australasian Journal of Early Childhood
Volume	46
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/18369391211056668
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

Keywords

Play with social robotic toys
digital technologies in early childhood education
children with diverse additional needs
child social emotional development

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1177/18369391211056668

Cite this

@article{4bf83fd18c2f41369f7c1bfaf61c78a0,

title = "Using robotic toys in early childhood education to support children{\textquoteright}s social and emotional competencies",

abstract = "This Australian study examines whether and how technologies such as Artificially Intelligent (AI) toys in a home-based setting might socially and emotionally support children with diverse needs through play. Building on the concept of {\textquoteleft}emotional capital', and employing a design-based research approach, parents during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in 2020 intentionally used robotic toys to engage their children with additional diverse needs in home-based play experiences. The data from both parents{\textquoteright} and children{\textquoteright}s (n = 5) Zoom interviews, digital observations and children{\textquoteright}s drawings demonstrated how children creatively conversed with their AI robots in innovative and empathy-based dialogues that generated happy feelings and a sense of {\textquoteleft}imaginary{\textquoteright} togetherness with their robot during the coding experiences. This study contributes to research by exploring the use of AI robotic toys together with physical and artificial environments and offers a case to build children{\textquoteright}s emotional capital in enabling children{\textquoteright}s social-emotional literacies.",

keywords = "Play with social robotic toys, digital technologies in early childhood education, children with diverse additional needs, child social emotional development",

author = "Sarika Kewalramani and Ioanna Palaiologou and Maria Dardanou and Kelly-Ann Allen and Sivanes Phillipson",

note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research received funding from Monash University{\textquoteright}s Early Years Academic Community for data collection. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2021.",

year = "2021",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1177/18369391211056668",

language = "English",

volume = "46",

pages = "355--369",

journal = "Australasian Journal of Early Childhood",

issn = "1836-9391",

publisher = "Early Childhood Australia",

number = "4",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Using robotic toys in early childhood education to support children’s social and emotional competencies

AU - Kewalramani, Sarika

AU - Palaiologou, Ioanna

AU - Dardanou, Maria

AU - Allen, Kelly-Ann

AU - Phillipson, Sivanes

N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research received funding from Monash University’s Early Years Academic Community for data collection. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021.

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - This Australian study examines whether and how technologies such as Artificially Intelligent (AI) toys in a home-based setting might socially and emotionally support children with diverse needs through play. Building on the concept of ‘emotional capital', and employing a design-based research approach, parents during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in 2020 intentionally used robotic toys to engage their children with additional diverse needs in home-based play experiences. The data from both parents’ and children’s (n = 5) Zoom interviews, digital observations and children’s drawings demonstrated how children creatively conversed with their AI robots in innovative and empathy-based dialogues that generated happy feelings and a sense of ‘imaginary’ togetherness with their robot during the coding experiences. This study contributes to research by exploring the use of AI robotic toys together with physical and artificial environments and offers a case to build children’s emotional capital in enabling children’s social-emotional literacies.

AB - This Australian study examines whether and how technologies such as Artificially Intelligent (AI) toys in a home-based setting might socially and emotionally support children with diverse needs through play. Building on the concept of ‘emotional capital', and employing a design-based research approach, parents during the COVID-19 lockdown periods in 2020 intentionally used robotic toys to engage their children with additional diverse needs in home-based play experiences. The data from both parents’ and children’s (n = 5) Zoom interviews, digital observations and children’s drawings demonstrated how children creatively conversed with their AI robots in innovative and empathy-based dialogues that generated happy feelings and a sense of ‘imaginary’ togetherness with their robot during the coding experiences. This study contributes to research by exploring the use of AI robotic toys together with physical and artificial environments and offers a case to build children’s emotional capital in enabling children’s social-emotional literacies.

KW - Play with social robotic toys

KW - digital technologies in early childhood education

KW - children with diverse additional needs

KW - child social emotional development

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118451698&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/18369391211056668

DO - 10.1177/18369391211056668

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85118451698

SN - 1836-9391

VL - 46

SP - 355

EP - 369

JO - Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

JF - Australasian Journal of Early Childhood

IS - 4

ER -

Using robotic toys in early childhood education to support children’s social and emotional competencies

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Guest speaker for Early Childhood Masters of Education course students at The Education University HK

Awarded by Department of Education and Training, Early Learning and Development Reform Branch for project "Improving Child Social and Emotional Development with Therapy Robot Play"

Cite this

Using robotic toys in early childhood education to support children’s social and emotional competencies

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Activities

Guest speaker for Early Childhood Masters of Education course students at The Education University HK

Prizes

Awarded by Department of Education and Training, Early Learning and Development Reform Branch for project "Improving Child Social and Emotional Development with Therapy Robot Play"

Cite this