Dear all,

I am pleased to share our recently published study in Research in Science & Technological Education:
“Fostering equity in STEM education through educational robotics: evidence from disadvantaged middle school classrooms.”
In this mixed-methods study, we examined the effects of a five-week, curriculum-aligned educational robotics intervention integrated into the Grade 6 Force and Motion unit in a socioeconomically disadvantaged public school in Türkiye.
The findings were particularly encouraging.
Students in the educational robotics group showed greater gains in academic achievement, STEM attitudes, and STEM motivation compared with students receiving regular curriculum-based instruction.
The academic achievement results were especially noteworthy. While the two groups started at similar levels, the experimental group reached a higher post-test mean (61.88) than the control group (52.42). More importantly, the intervention effect was stronger for students with lower initial achievement levels, suggesting that educational robotics may serve as a compensatory learning mechanism by reducing the extent to which later achievement depends on prior performance.
A similar pattern emerged for STEM attitudes. The experimental group increased from 117.56 to 150.32, whereas the control group showed virtually no change. The effect was again particularly pronounced among students with lower initial STEM attitudes.
The qualitative findings helped explain these patterns. Student diaries highlighted five recurring themes: positive emotional responses, improved conceptual understanding, persistence and effectiveness of hands-on activities, collaboration and teamwork, and more positive attitudes toward STEM and robotics. Students frequently reported that concepts such as force, speed, and balanced and unbalanced forces became easier to understand when connected to observable robot behaviour.
For us, one of the most important implications is that educational robotics may be especially valuable not simply because it improves STEM outcomes, but because it may create stronger learning opportunities for students who begin with fewer academic and motivational advantages.
This highlights the potential of curriculum-aligned educational robotics as a pedagogical approach for supporting more inclusive and equitable STEM learning in under-resourced school contexts.

📘 Research in Science & Technological Education
DOI: 10.1080/02635143.2026.2721678