EI-Edurobot: a new proposal for empathy training through robotics

Abstract

Empathy is a multi-level phenomenon, referring to the ability of an individual to understand or feel what another experiences. It is a fundamental element of Education, but also of Special and Inclusive education. On the other hand, educational robotics which generally refers to teaching with the utilization of programmable devices, has gained huge momentum nowadays in educational research. This paper aims at highlighting the significance of empathy and empathy training in typical, special and inclusive education. Furthermore, the lack of approaches for active empathy training are highlighted through a brief literature review. This leads to the formation of a new proposal for an Educational Robot which will be used for empathy education via realistic simulations in real classroom settings, mainly in Early Childhood and Primary Education. Indicative lesson plans are be presented.