Overview of Educational Robotics in Latin America: A Systematic Study Based on Scientific Literature

Goncalves L.M.G.; Garcia L.T.D.S.; Patino-Escarcina R.E.; Barrios-Aranibar D. · 2025 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics, ICAR 2025 (2025) · DOI: 10.1109/icar65334.2025.11338665

Resumen

Latin American countries have made several efforts to bring Educational Robotics to the education levels of K-12, fostering larger initiatives from governments and private sectors to improve teaching methods. There are important contrasts in the approaches and the effective numbers of implementations, although most countries share specific social-economic challenges. The scale and form differ significantly in such a way that it remains a challenge to analyze and understand the overall implementations in the region. Toward partially answering this question, this article contributes with an analysis of Educational Robotics in Latin American countries based on a systematic review of the scientific research documents on this field present in Scopus and Web of Science, including topics such as methodologies and tools, policies and practices, and main implementations and results. This systematic review aims at first drawing a global panorama and then refining a local (Latin American) panorama on Educational Robotics in K-12. In addition, we provide an status of implementations in main countries by looking at the literature and completed with other documentation such as state documents and formal news. We found that Educational Robotics is being used not only as a technical tool but also as a philosophical, social, and inclusive platform. However, the sector still faces challenges in attracting and retaining talent, aligning curricula with the demands of the 21st century, and ensuring high-quality education. Mostly, funding shortages and disparities in access to the tool remain global concerns in Latin America.

Instituciones: Universidad Católica San Pablo