The Participation of Students with Autism in Educational Robotics: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Educational robotics (ER) is a growing interdisciplinary field that is attracting increasing attention in inclusive or special education settings. It provides a suitable educational environment for the participation of students with autism, through which they can utilize their main strengths and interests. Strengths-based vs. deficits-based approaches recognize the strengths and interests of autistic children as the starting point for their inclusion in school and the community. The scoping review was developed as the best knowledge-synthesis method for summarizing the pertinent research on the participation of students with autism in educational robotics for their successful inclusion. Forty-five studies were included and analyzed to address the main objectives, the mapping of contextual dimensions, and the specific characteristics of the educational robotic activities where the participation of students with autism occurred. The data were extracted into a charting framework, and a narrative analysis was adopted for the knowledge synthesis. According to the results, the research on the participation of children with autism is limited and has focused primarily on educational robotic activities, failing to adequately explore other dimensions that affect the successful participation and inclusion of students with autism in educational robotics.