Educational robotics and programming in inclusive educational settings: a scoping review

This article presents a map of studies on the educational potential of robotics and programming in inclusive settings. The scoping review methodology was used based on the procedures recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute. This method was chosen because of the need to examine and map the main trends in the work done with robotics and programming in educational contexts for children with special needs. Our concern was to search for emerging scientific evidence on the educational potential of robotics and programming in inclusive contexts. Searches were conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science, and Eric databases between 2015 and 2022. The analysis identified five research papers that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results show little abundance of studies in this area, which justifies the scoping methodology. The selected studies show a prevalent trend toward the inclusion of educational robotics and not so much programming. They reveal that the use of robotics and/or programming is a pedagogical strategy that promotes greater interaction, participation, and motivation in children, as well as greater socialization. The relevance of the theme and its complexity highlight the need for further research on this subject.