Educational Robotics can foster social inclusion and social status of children with autism

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of an Educational Robotics intervention using Lego Wedo 2.0 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">®</sup> on the social status of students with autism in primary education inclusive contexts. The participants in this study were 14 students with autism and their peers (n=228) from 14 classes in 12 primary schools in Greece. Sociometric methods and tools were used before and after the intervention regarding the students’ social status. The students were categorized according to their social status. The analysis of the research data revealed interesting results concerning the effect of this Educational Robotics intervention on the social status of students with autism in inclusive educational contexts.