Moral considerations on social robots in education: A multi-stakeholder perspective

Matthijs Smakman*, Paul Vogt, Elly A. Konijn

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Social robots are a promising new technology for primary education. However, they also introduce practical and moral challenges and there is an increasing demand for guidelines for a responsible, safe introduction of social robots. In this study, we identified and compared the moral considerations associated with the introduction of social robots in primary education from the viewpoint of direct and indirect stakeholders by conducting focus group sessions (N = 118). In total, we identified and compared stakeholder considerations related to 17 moral values. Overall, each of the stakeholder groups considered social robots a potentially valuable tool for education. Many similarities and only few conflicting views across the various stakeholder groups were found. Particularly among the teachers, parents, and policymakers, there were many similarities on the issues reported and their considerations were often aligned. These insights into the moral considerations of the various stakeholders involved, provide a solid base to develop guidelines for implementing social robots in education as requested by scholars and society.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104317
Pages (from-to)1-14
Number of pages14
JournalComputers and Education
Volume174
Early online date30 Aug 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are extremely grateful to all participants in our study. We also thank our students Gijs van Ewijk, Michael Goudzwaard and Jordi Leunen for their indispensable help in data collection. This work was supported by The Dutch Research Council ( NWO ), project number 023.010.066 .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Cultural and social implications
  • Elementary education
  • Human-computer interface
  • Improving classroom teaching
  • Media in education

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Moral considerations on social robots in education: A multi-stakeholder perspective'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this