Educational robotics in parents’ perceptions

The present research investigates parents’ perceptions of the effectiveness of extracurricular Educational Robotics (ER) workshops promoted by a school in South Sardinia. The focus of the survey is on parents’ ideas with respect to their children’s learning processes and skill development, not only technical-practical, but also cross-curricular. Workshop days dedicated to parent-child interaction was scheduled during the ER laboratories, in which students took on the role of tutors to guide parents in programming some educational robots, using different programming languages. The results show that parents were motivated to have their children participate in the robotics project, and had a good perception with respect to the collaboration with their children and with teachers. The distinction according to the educational qualification held by parents appears significant. In summary, the data showed a general parental interest in ER, which was seen as a functional practice for enhancing multiple skills, from social-motivational to STEAM skills.