Despoina Schina

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Papers

7

Total Citations

248

H-Index

5

About

Despoina Schina is a leading researcher in Educational Robotics (ER) and teacher professional development, with a focus on integrating technology into early childhood and primary education. Her work centers on how pre-service and in-service teachers can effectively adopt robotics tools—such as Bee-Bot and LEGO® League platforms—to foster 21st-century skills like collaboration, problem-solving, and computational thinking. Schina’s most influential paper, “An overview of teacher training programs in educational robotics” (100 citations), provides a comprehensive synthesis of best practices and recommendations for ER teacher education. She has also made significant contributions to understanding teacher acceptance and self-efficacy, as shown in her associational study on preschool teachers (58 citations), and has pioneered the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into robotics curricula (49 citations). Her research on FIRST LEGO League competitions (17 citations) evaluates how these challenges assess 21st-century skills, while her gender-focused study (5 citations) explores equity in STEM learning. Schina’s work is widely cited for its practical implications, offering evidence-based guidance for designing teacher training programs and curricula that prepare educators to leverage robotics for inclusive, future-ready education.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

5
H-Index
7
Papers
248
Total Citations
35
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
An overview of teacher training programs in educational robotics: characteristics, best practices and recommendations
100 citations · 2020
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2020 (3 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 5
🏛 Institutions: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 16 days ago