Development of educational robotics: Problems and prospects

Introduction . The inclusion of schoolchildren in the development of robotics can serve as an effective method of popularising technical education and a means of vocational guidance work. Educational robotics can be viewed as a means of integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the context of school education, as a tool for developing flexible skills in students. The problem of the lack and/or incompetence of teaching staff in this area is a limiting factor in the development of children’s technical creativity. Aim. Based on the analysis of the development of educational robotics (a popular and promising direction of children’s technical creativity), the current research aimed to compare the trends of its implementation in different countries, identify problems arising on the way of integrating educational robotics into school and additional education, and outline ways to overcome these problems. Methodology and research methods . The methodological basis of the study was the theory of professional development of future teachers and the concept of forecasting the prospects in the field of education. The identification of problems and prospects for the integration of robotics into the education of schoolchildren was carried out by the method of thematic content-analysis of publications with a search depth of 10 years, placed in the Web of Science, Google Academy and eLibrary databases. The identification of the need for teachers in robotics in school and additional education was carried out on the basis of generalising the results obtained in the course of questioning the heads and teachers of children technical creativity centres. 275 respondents from 11 regions of Russia took part in the online survey based on Google forms. Diagnostics of teachers’ interests and readiness to receive additional education in educational robotics was carried out on the basis of a questionnaire survey of students in pedagogical areas of training. The study involved 185 students – future teachers from 6 universities in Russia. The equipment of the system of school and additional education in Russia and the availability of appropriate equipment for schoolchildren were studied on the example of one of the Russian regions. The authors obtained empirical data from the annual reports of educational institutions. The assessment of the availability and quality of methodological support for robotics classes was carried out by processing data from an online survey of teachers, in which 98 respondents took part. Results . Research papers on the development of educational robotics have been divided into three main groups: robotics as a means of STEM integration; robotics as a means of forming Soft Skills; robotics as a means of forming professional competencies among teachers. The most significant problems of integrating educational robotics into school and additional education are highlighted: weak material base for organising classes; absence or low qualification of existing teachers; lack of a clear systemic plan for the implementation of robotics in the education of schoolchildren; lack of educational and methodological support. As strategies for the provision of education with teachers in educational robotics, the following are proposed: introduction into the practice of professional training of teachers in the higher education system of the profile “Educational Robotics”; implementation of professional retraining under the “Educational Robotics” programme for teachers of computer science, mathematics, technology, physics and primary education; attracting students –future teachers to receive additional education at the stage of study at the university in the framework of professional training “Pedagogy of Additional Education: Robotics”. Scientific novelty . The problems of successful integration of robotics into school and additional education are identified and described, among which the leading one is the absence or low qualifications of existing teachers in educational robotics. The ways of overcoming the identified difficulties based on mutually beneficial cooperation of universities, schools and centres of additional education are outlined; the system-forming role of pedagogical universities in this process is outlined. The practical significance of the study consists in the possibility of using its results to determine the prospects for the development of educational robotics, as well as to select the optimal ways of professional training and/or retraining of teaching staff for the implementation of this type of activity.