Roles and research issues of robots in education: a review of the 2011-2021 publications

In recent years, with the development of digital technology and artificial intelligence, robotics has gradually aroused the attention of researchers and has become one of the most important emerging technologies. At present, the application of robots in all walks of life has achieved outstanding results, and robot-assisted teaching has increasingly become a popular teaching and research issue. This study analysed the trends and outcomes of applying robots in educational settings around the world, and illustrated their application domains/activities and participants. In addition, the present study explained the roles of robots in education according to the following aspects: 1) teachers; 2) teaching assistants; 3) students/peers; 4) distance learning tools/agents; 5) learning materials/platforms. Finally, this study provides suggestions for future development in practice by analysing the advantages and challenges of applying robots in educational settings.